Pirates of the Caribbean : The Oracle's Prophecy
by Maxwell Jack
Summary: First installment in a series of three so far. There aren't enough characters in this box for me to write an adequate summary but this one is only the beginning of something that grows in epic directions. Magic, fantasy, adventure, and pirates. Yes?
1. Prologue : What Blood Undone

_So … This is the Oracle's Prophecy revisited. I'm re-issuing the fic to fix any errors and to make it more congruent with the new movie as well. Mostly adding Beckett's name in that one chapter … and to re-acquaint myself with my work so I may finish my triquel. So … I hope you enjoy the re-release. Not much will change … spelling, grammar … other typos. Weee! Here it is … mostly original._

_ALSO! This is the second time I've posted this online. Fanfic goes through a reformatting deal or something and certain symbols I use to break up a chapter into separate locations get looked over and don't show up. Rather than have my work look like a run on idea, I'd rather get the proper borders in there. Unfortunately, I had to delete all of the reviews as well, but there were several and all were positive._

Damn. There sure are a lot of people that have decided to write off Pirates. I wasn't going to jump on their so called "band wagon" but this idea came to me at an Angel game when my friends were talking about the movie. So, as a favor to my friends, I will take you, the readers, on yet another pirate's journey.

First comes the disclaimer. Of course I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean. I don't own Geoffrey Rush. I don't own Keira Knightly. I don't own Orlando Bloom! I don't own the Black Pearl or any of the crew that appears in the movie. And I certainly don't own the wonderful . . . the magnificent . . . the effanineffable . . .drum roll ([Maxwell] Jack throws something at trio of snares. "I'm not done yet!" . . . The undeniably genius . . . not to mention the hottest . . . (lead snare starts tapping some complicated rhythm involving loud rim shots and some weird thing I think are called triples. "Knock that shit off!" Jack shouts) . . . the strongest, blah-blah- blah-blah drum roll Johnny Depp! I mean, I wish I owned him but unfortunately, that just won't happen. (runs off sobbing) (_Yeah, how 'bout not.)_

Second comes the dedications. I dedicate this story to Robin Skiles and Elizabeth Talbott (and Liz's dad) To Robin, for her birthday, to Liz, 'cause she's my best friend, and to her dad because he got me a free Angel's ticket.

Third; If you don't like details, length, or bad words and adult situations, then this story is not entirely for you. If you love a good adventure, go ahead and read. Also, flamers; Before you send something that is potentially on fire, please keep your verbal abuse to gentle criticism and even then, don't do so until you can do better (just one of my personal rules) and if you can do better than this (not to be conceited) you'd better tell me what big author you are.

Okay, now off to what you've been waiting (or not waiting) for.

_**Pirates of the Caribbean; The Oracle's Prophecy**_

Maxwell Jack

**Prologue – What Blood Undone?**

A chill wind swirled audibly and almost visibly about the mouth of a sinister cave, the darkness of the night interrupted in places by a clean slice of pure moonlight wafting from the distant sky, clouds obscuring the face of the lunar body intermittently. The sound of waves lapping a tad roughly against the looming rocks that made up most of Isla de Muerta along with the whispering wind were the only sounds to be heard if one were around to hear them. Inside the cave, there came a rather contrast chattering, a vaguely cheerful sound not at all like the gloomy environment.

Barbossa, his body as cold as the water and treasure around him, stared lifelessly at the ceiling of the cave. A splash of moonlight illuminated his human face. Jack the monkey perched upon his chest, tossing the small coin back and forth, prattling animatedly to himself. His big black eyes reflected the moonlight and his skeletal appearance would have frightened the unaware.

The water lapped gently against the rocks but there was an unnatural rippling to it, as if something were creating a disturbance. Simian Jack perked his head up to look into the darkness. A man's upper body could be seen jutting above the surface, his reflection lost in the ripples. The little monkey screeched loudly and hit his master's chest, attempting to wake the dead man. The figure in the water waded to the rock and pulled himself up. The undead monkey was screaming so shrilly that dust fell slowly from the ledges above, creating a slight haze.

The new man glanced at the frightened animal and smirked. He reached forward and Jack scampered back a few feet, flitting in and out of the moonlight.

The man laughed and said in a rough voice, "He's dead you know. I don't think he cares much about this place."

Jack continued to screech and the man laughed again. He began to speak to the small primate as one would to a sentient being.

"You ask how I got here? How I came by the location of Isla de Muerta? Well, I think the fact that this place can only be found by those who know where it is excludes me for one simple reason. I too, cannot die. I had as long as I wanted to search for it."

The monkey had silenced himself as if to listen. He cocked his head to the left in curiosity, biting his decomposed lip absently. The man stood, sending Jack running even farther. He laughed again and made his way to the cursèd treasure of Cortez. He pulled out one of the pieces and examined it carefully. He then pocketed it and stuck his arm into one of the many shafts of moonlight around the cave. His white flesh did not become skeletal or dry. It remained the same, reflecting the pale light to an ethereal quality.

"I guess you can't curse those already cursed," he said to Jack. He took the gold out of his pocket and threw it as hard as he was capable against a rock wall. The gold went through the granite with a loud crack, creating a dark hole rung with jagged edges.

He looked at the wall with some interest but shrugged it off. It wasn't the first time he'd done something like that. He turned his attention back to Jack who had run to hide behind one of the mountains of treasure.

"Don't worry," he told the little creature. "You'll have your master back soon enough." He swept back his unruly brown hair and moved to the cold corpse of Barbossa. He put a strong hand to the open shirt of Barbossa and dragged him up toward the top of the mountain of treasure.

"I've never tried this before," he said to the corpse. "So I hope you'll forgive me if it doesn't work." He took a knife from Barbossa's belt and slit his own wrist in one sharp slash.

A few moments later, a sputtering scream could be heard from the shore around the island. Added to these screams were the screeches of a monkey.

Miles away, Elizabeth Swann Turner sat up in bed breathing hard and trembling, her hand hovering around the small of her throat. Her skin was covering in a light dew of sweat from a dream she'd had.

…**.**

Jack Sparrow, excuse me, _Captain_ Jack Sparrow … staggered into the Faithful Bride in Tortuga, bent on getting even more drunk than he already was presently. His companion, Joshamee Gibbs, now Bos'un of _The Black Pearl_, was looking around as if he were being followed by someone.

"Som'mat's amiss, I say," he whispered nervously for the hundredth time that night. "The air don't feel right ta me."

"That's only because we keep coming across those privateer wrecks," Jack answered him, pushing open the door of the tavern. "Something other than us is out there gobbling up the privateers. Not that I'm complaining … those bloody pirates for rent would try for me ship if they could catch it, but that's that much booty we aren't getting."

"Do you think it could be _him_?" Gibbs asked timidly. It was clear by Jack's expression that he knew to whom Gibbs was referring as 'him'.

"I shot him," Jack answered with finality. "He's dead." And that was the end of the conversation. Barbossa had had his time and now it was over.

A beautiful brunette came up to the table the two men had seated themselves at and smiled. Her breasts were offered up like ripe fruits, just barely held back from escape in the lavender dress she wore. Jack smiled back and began to order. She smiled sweetly and delivered a smack so loud some of the men near the bar swiveled in their stools to watch.

"Three years?" she shrieked. "Three years?" she ran off, leaving a bewildered Jack and a laughing Gibbs.

"What was that about, Cap'n?" he asked, still laughing a bit.

"I think I remember her now," Jack answered a bit distractedly. They ordered two pints and they sat back down, their mugs frothy from the contents.

"Why'd we come here again?" Gibbs asked after drinking half of his mug.

"We need to restock the cargo. Food, water, necessity? Or would you rather us continue to sail without provisions?" Jack gave him a dark look. There was a raucous brawl going on behind him but he seemed to take no notice of it. He threw back his head, his matted black hair falling wildly over the back of his chair as he chugged down the last of his drink. When he slammed the mug back down, there was an old gypsy like woman seated at their table. Her hair may have been black or brown or … who knew. It was matted and filthy and her smile was less than white, or rather more.

"Who are you?" Gibbs asked loudly, forgetting decorum in spit of his surprise.

She looked at him and rasped in a voice full of sorrow. "I am de Oracle ob Tortuga! Tru horrible visions I hab come to seek de one who lead _De Black Pearl_."

"That'd be me," Jack whispered proudly. He was extremely happy to have his ship and title back.

She gazed at him with red-rimmed eyes and a frightened look upon her face. She held out her hands and passed her palms within an inch of his dark face. She shrieked and covered her own face. "Jour piracy will lead to jour deat'!" Her speech was strange but understandable.

Jack smirked. "That's the idea. Wouldn't want to disappoint anyone by dying of natural causes." His gold teeth glinted in the dim tavern. The woman shook horribly. She reached out and grasped his weather beaten hands in her own spindly fingers.

"De leader ob de singin' women! A ring wit de emblem ob jour trade, glowin' red eyes! De leader is de key! The key to jour heir! She will lead jou to jour heir before jour deat'!"

"What in the blazes is she speakin' of, cap'n?" Gibbs asked frantically. Jack remained silent, his dark eyes glued to the old woman. Gibbs began to speak again but Jack hushed him.

"Let her continue." He growled.

"An evil enemy, pale white," she gasped. "Golden treasure in a cave, a monkey, an apple. Dere be a blood soaked spot near de base ob a golden mountain. Teet', gleamin'."

Jack looked calm but he also looked like he believed the old wench. "Strange eyes, de clan has!"

"Would you listen to her jabber," Gibbs cursed. "She's mad."

"Dere, in de cave ob Isla de Muerta, de blood undone, spilt upon de gold, creates a hole in time! It is dere jou must go to begin de search for jour heir!" She released Jack's hands and convulsed. Blood spewed from her mouth and she collapsed to the floor. Jack and Gibbs stood quickly and the woman continued to shriek and convulse.

"Call a doctor, get her some help!" Gibbs ordered to the crowd. "She may be dying!"

"Jus' leave 'er dere," an old toothless man told him. "She be foin in a day o' so. Jus' a craz' ole wench."

The rest of the pub refused to listen to Jack and went back to their drinks and meals. Jack knelt beside the old woman and grasped one of her hands. "Tell me, old woman. What is blood undone?"

"Blood . . . undone . . ." she gasped. "Blood . . . undead! Life!" she shut down, her eyes closing and her putrid mouth slamming shut. Jack stood, moving away from the woman. He looked around the pub and turned to Gibbs. A jerk of his head and the two men were on their way to the door.

"Hoy, men," someone called. "Ain't ye gonna take whot she's holdin' out to ya?" They turned back and Jack stepped forward, taking a slip of paper from the woman's outstretched hand. He didn't open it there. Instead, he motioned Gibbs outside.

"What was it, sir?" Gibbs asked as Jack power-walked away from the tavern. The captain gave him the same dark look he'd given him within and stopped near an old church. He took out the slip of paper and unfolded it.

They both looked at it for a while. Jack smiled and Gibbs shrugged. It was a hand painted picture of a ring. On the ring was the face of a skull with bright red eyes. It meant nothing to them though Jack did remember the old woman saying something about a ring "bearing the emblem of your trade!"

They returned to _the Pearl _and Jack closed himself inside his cabin. He looked closely at the picture and thought about what the woman had said. It was the first time he realized he needed to find an heir, _any_ heir. He knew a pirate was only expected to live so long, though he wasn't as old as most of his crew. He expected to live for at least seventy more years, well maybe sixty.

"I'm not going to die yet!" he exclaimed to himself. "Just the same, maybe a trip to the island isn't such a bad idea." He stood from his old bed and strode to the door. Throwing it open, he smiled frighteningly and announced to the crew.

"Prepare yourselves, men," he shouted, waving a hand. Anamaria glared up at him, and he added as an afterthought. "And woman. For tomorrow we sail once again to Isla de Muerta to find my … er … something or other." He wasn't about to reveal his thoughts to the world, or even his crew.

"He believed that codswallop?" Gibbs gasped down below. "I can't trust it!" Luckily, Jack couldn't hear him from his perch above the crew who were still mostly on the gangway and bow of the ship.

"I warn you all that the treasure of Cortez is still cursed," he said direly. "Not that you need reminding after you all saw Barbossa and his crew." Several of the crew jeered loudly. A few of them had actually been Barbossa's men but had switched over after the battle. These few men nodded emphatically.

"And so tonight I ask you not to bring anyone aboard, men," this time Anamaria didn't glare. She never brought anyone aboard. A few of the men groaned because they hadn't been to land in such a long time and were aching for a woman.

"If it pains you that much," Jack lamented with a sneer. "Go ashore tonight and lose yourselves amongst the comforts of Tortuga's finest." He turned and re-entered his cabin while his crew laughed amongst themselves.

He sat at the table within his cabin and uncorked a bottle, thinking silently to himself. They would have to cross busy shipping lanes and the British Navy was everywhere. They were at war in what was being called the Second War of the Austrian Succession. The year was 1758 and England had allied with Prussia two years before. It was said that King George II only wanted to protect Hanover, one of the German provinces near Prussia from where he hailed.

In any case, Great Britain, with it's nigh unstoppable Naval power and Prussia with its fabulous and highly efficient land troops stood a good chance against the other nations. France was a main contender so far, and Austria and Saxony were making quite the noise. Russia and Sweden were also putting in their numbers and it was said that Spain would join the battle for them as well.

The only other nation that seemed eager to aid Prussia and England was Portugal, with her penchant for trade, but with the power they had, even though the numbers were stacked, they wouldn't be too far behind. After all, it was only one year after the Battle of Palashi in India where the British East India Trading Company pretty much insured their hold on the control that would become known as the 'jewel in the imperial crown'. In other words, considering the population of India, England would have no shortage of troops and they felt no qualms in impressing men into their crews.

Of course, they were having a few problems concerning the actual _ruling_ of India. Mir Jafar, a man that had been bought to _not _attack by the British EITC had been placed as head of the country, but he wasn't liking being controlled by the crown and was making trouble … nothing compared to the war of course. He was manageable, even if he had a tendency to revolt every once in a while.

Jack sighed and swigged his rum, content for the moment. None of the British Navy could catch him anyway, even if they were out in force. The Company had a slightly better chance of catching him, but once they did, most of their ships lacked the force needed to put him down. He wasn't worried in the least.

…**.**

Re-released on 7-29-06 (Pg 7) (Pg 4 with unhindered formatting.)


	2. Chapter I : Claudia's Birthday

Back for more? I'm glad!

**Chapter One – Claudia's Birthday**

There is nothing at all remarkable about the date July sixteenth. Nothing at all and that's why, when six teenagers in the year 2003 left their houses to go to the Krikorian theater downtown, they had no inclination of the danger to come. There were no sudden urges to stay home that day, nor were there any intuitional itchings in the back of their minds. They were just six average … well, rather stranger than average some of them … teenagers of varying years bent on having fun.

Elizabeth Talbott and Robin Skiles, two girls about to become seniors, arrived at the theater early enough to get into the one dollar re-showing of Shrek. Later on, they would meet Ryoko, an upcoming junior, and her younger brother Nick Maxwell for lunch at Peking China down the street. After lunch, the four would travel back to the theater to meet up with Diana Cobian and Claudia Gonzales to watch the movie the whole group had been waiting for: _Pirates of the Caribbean; Curse of the Black Pearl._

Claudia, a young girl of Hispanic descent, was turning sixteen on the sixteenth and she hadn't let anyone forget it, calling to remind them all of the day. She was looking forward to watching Johnny Depp of course. Who needed Orlando Bloom when Johnny Depp was there?

The Maxwells were departing from their home three miles away but they were used to strenuous things such as walking for long distances. One of them had even marched six miles with a tuba once and the other was insanely tall so there was no problem. Claudia was off having breakfast with her family and Diana was sleeping in.

Shrek let out at 11:00 and Robin and Elizabeth met the Maxwells in the theater lobby. Nick was tall and gaunt, acting his part as the younger brother and either ignoring everyone and being stoic, or annoying everyone to the best of his abilities. He assuredly though erroneously thought, at his ripe age of 14 that he knew _everything _there was to know about _any _subject concerned. His brightly colored clothing clashed horribly. He wore an orange turtleneck sweatshirt under a red and black button down along with olive green pants sporting blue zippers.

His sister was more adequately dressed. She wore black pants and boots with an antique styled blouse that happened to be transparent in the back. It was a red so deep it seemed black. She wore a necklace with two rings on the chain. Elizabeth hugged her tightly when she saw her, causing Ryoko to groan and shove her off. She was not a particularly touchy person.

Robin was wearing what the gang called her "Yamo" shirt. A low cut blue blouse with the normal jeans and sneakers, Robin was ready for anything, including bribable teachers. (Muahahaha!) A necklace bearing the number 16 swung from her neck. Elizabeth, probably the most modest of the group, wore a black T-shirt emblazoned with a _Nightmare Before Christmas _logo and jean shorts. She too wore a necklace bearing a ring, though hers held more significance to her heart than did Ryoko's did. It was a ring given her by her one true love. Every time Ryoko caught her looking at the ring, she would scoff and make some sarcastic remark. Ryoko's had been some trinket bought at Disneyland of all places and though important to the story, not important to the owner.

"Come on," Ryoko urged in a deep yet female voice. "I'm starving!" and with that, the four set off to the Chinese restaurant. Ryoko, who was often 'starving', usually led the charge to food.

Peking China was located downtown, not far from the theater. It was dim inside and the walls behind the vinyl booths were host to all sorts of interesting pictures and scrolls. The wall that held the front door also housed a giant fish tank, giant angelfish gliding about, staring at their dead cousins on plates below as people ate.

"_Poisson_!" Elizabeth cried once they were seated in the joint.

"Are you pointing at me or the fish?" Robin asked flatly, scrutinizing the menu. Ryoko and Liz didn't bother. They were regulars in the place.

"You see those fish every time we come here and you still see fit to shout at them in French?" Ryoko asked, just the slightest bit annoyed. Liz giggled. She called everything and everyone _Poisson_, which just happened to mean fish in French. They ordered and Nick started to play with the table necessities. He took his water glass and poured a few drops of soy into the water. It turned a rich golden color.

"Beer," he said longingly. "Eight more years and I'll be able to drink it for real." He sipped the soy/water mix and gagged. Mind over matter did not work in this setting apparently.

Ryoko scolded him for acting his age and while she was at it, the food arrived. She asked for chopsticks and dug in. She'd ordered the 'Three Gems', which came with beef, chicken, and shrimp. Since she could never decide which she liked best, she ordered the one dish that had all three.

"Beer doesn't taste all that great, anyway," she muttered before inhaling her lunch.

"You never had any," Nick argued.

She gave him a look and spoke as if she were talking to someone much younger. "I was in the damn Tournament of Roses parade with a bunch of college guys. We all spent the night at someone's house the night before the parade, ya know, December 31st … what do you think we did, dumbass?"

Nick gave her a grumpy look, whether out of disbelief or jealousy, no one could tell. He ate his food without further complaint.

Soon, the food, except the veggies, was gone and all that remained were four fortune cookies. They each cracked them open, swallowed the cookie, and read their fortune.

"'_You will embark on a journey_,'" Nick read aloud. "Well, duh! We're walking to the mall after the movie and anyone reading this would be going on a journey after eating. That's a given. A journey home to the crapper!"

"'_You will be near the sea_,'" Liz read. "Cool! I haven't been to the beach in a while."

"'_You will meet someone new_,'" Robin read flatly. "I hope they're hot, whoever they are."

Ryoko grinned. "Could you meet someone for me too?" she unfolded her fortune and read the little pink message. "'_You will be of aid to someone'_. I wonder what that means."

"Who cares," Nick groaned. "Let's go."

"I should never have brought you along," Ryoko commented with disdain. "You're _such _an idiot."

"It was your choice," Nick pointed out.

"Meh," she shrugged. "I try to be nice … I give up."

The four left the restaurant and met up with Diana at the theater. Diana and Robin didn't get along very well so Elizabeth and Nick ushered Robin into the theater before Diana could spot her.

"How's it going, Ryoko?" Diana asked.

"Hard to say. Where's Claudia?" Ryoko looked around, squinting into the light. Nick appeared at her shoulder, startling her.

"I don't have my ticket yet," he told her. "You have all the money."

Ryoko fished in her bag patterned with a beautiful Chinese dragon for her money, suddenly stopping and giving Nick the 'evil eye'. He took a step back, knowing what was coming. Out of the bag she intended to give to Claudia, she pulled out five feet of fluorescent pink feathers. The boa was meant as a sort of joke but Claudia would love it.

"If you go dance on the corner wearing this, I'll give you your ticket money," she grinned and Nick blanched. He saw that she was utterly serious and he took the feathers with a growl. Wrapping them around his shoulders, he stood on the corner and began to dance, or try to dance. The movements he was making were more accurately described as attempting at swaying suggestively but looking more like a large feather covered sloth with a hangover. An equally ostentatious red pickup drove by and Nick ran back to his sister, who was in line buying their tickets.

"Here!" he shoved the feathers back. "Some dude in a pickup smiled at me funny."

She gave the ticket to her brother and stayed to wait for Claudia. The sky was growing cloudy and it looked as if rain might not be far off, but of course, being Southern California, the weather rarely changed from sweltering.

An old brick red car pulled up and Diana and Ryoko gasped. All they saw at first was a leather boot up to a thin knee covered in nylon but slowly, the entire figure emerged. A short black skirt along with a hounds tooth checkered patterned top encased the small body. Her dark hair was pulled up behind her and her eyes were rimmed in black liner not too unlike the large poster of Johnny Depp inside.

"Well," she said. "I'm here."

"Happy birthday, babe!" Ryoko announced with a flourish, handing her the bag. Claudia pulled out the feathers and wrapped them around her shoulders with much more finesse than Nick had managed. A red pickup zoomed by and honked.

"Was that the same truck?" Diana asked.

"Maybe," Ryoko drawled.

"What?" Claudia asked, looking inside the bag.

"Nothing," Ryoko brushed it off with a sideways smirk that had been know to piss math teachers off without the slightest provocation. "Come on! We're late!"

They got Claudia's ticket and hurried inside. The seating arrangements were made without too much growling and soon the group was settled and giggling at the lame advertisements, shouting lewd comments, and flinging popcorn back and forth. The lights dimmed and the ride had begun.

Of course, you know all that happens next. You've seen the movie, or you wouldn't be here. (Unless you're hunting for spoilers. You won't get many from me … just random references.)

…

_The Black Pearl _halted and anchored a half a mile off shore of the Isla de Muerta and Jack Sparrow was enthusiastically on board the first dinghy on way to the caves. They had only had to outrun one naval ship on the way but it had been way too big to continue chasing them. He had spotted another ship near the island when he'd sailed in and warned the men on _the Pearl_ to keep an eye on them.

He hummed to himself as the small rowboat entered the caves. He still hated the place for all the pain it symbolized and wasn't too keen to see the rotting body of Barbossa. It had been bad enough, seeing his cursed rotten body, but now they'd have to cope with the smell as well. At least he was finally dead, the mutinous bastard.

The boat moored on the silt-filled bottom of the cave and Jack climbed out easily, Gibbs and Anamaria clambering out after him. He walked briskly to the treasure laden caverns and looked around carefully. The other two were not so lucky. They were awestruck at the sight of so much gold.

Jack's head turned as the screech of a monkey echoed around the walls of stone. Jack Sparrow waded over to the central mountain of gold, upon which stood the chest of Cortez. He knelt in the water, examining a dark spot overlaying the brilliance of the treasure. There was a brownish film over some of the precious metal. He smelled the air and through years of experience could confidently say, "It's blood." He searched the water with keen eyes for the source of the blood but didn't find what he was looking for. Barbossa's body had seemingly vanished, or been pulled into the water by a tide change.

"What's amiss, cap'n?" Anamaria asked. Jack ignored her out of distressful distraction and climbed swiftly up to the chest of Cortez coming face to face with none other than Will Turner.

"What are you doing here?" they asked each other in unison. "I could ask you the same question." Again, in unison.

Jack pointed to his … friend. "You first."

"Elizabeth had a strange dream and wouldn't let me rest a wink until I came here to find out if she was right. She thinks Barbossa's still alive." Will laughed at the thought of it, looking slightly boyish.

Jack grinned suavely. "I was sent by an old crackpot wench who declared that to find my heir, I must first come _here_. She strangely died after telling me this, no one yet knows why. No one exactly cares either."

"You didn't kill her, did you?" Will asked.

"Who do you think I am?" Jack asked grinning still.

"A pirate," Will stated the obvious. Will had a penchant for stating the obvious.

Jack gave him one of his wide-eyed drunken glances that reeked of incredulous disbelief. "You aren't still on about pirates are you? Even after what you've been through?"

Will grasped one of Jack's hands and patted him on the back. "You know, as much as I thought you were a rat, I'm glad to see you. Although, we nearly suffered the worst after your escape. We were accosted by the East India Trading Company but they left rather disappointedly after hearing that the Governor had pardoned us. They're much more interested in Mir Jafar."

Jack gave him a surprised look but suddenly glanced at the ground. Jack the monkey had wandered over and curled around his namesake's boot.

"You're still alive?" Jack exclaimed, stepping away from the monkey. He pulled out his pistol and fired at the small primate. Jack the monkey screeched and ran away at a high velocity. Jack the pirate sighed and in holstering his pistol, caught sight of something in his peripheral. It was like the spot where Barbossa had been but different somehow.

"There's blood down here, too," Jack remarked. "And it's newer than the spot where ol' Barbie was. Someone's been in here in the last couple o' days."

"But how," Will asked. "I thought you couldn't find this place unless you knew where it was."

"Norrington knows where it is," Jack answered standing. "He might have been looking for me. He's still out to have me hung, the bloody scallop!"

Suddenly, a woman's voice echoed around the cave. "_What blood undone, blood undone_!" Jack choked but controlled himself once Will looked at him questioningly. Anamaria screamed, a high pitch, not her normal loud voice. The two men on the mound shot a look back to where she and Gibbs had been standing. The shaded figure of a man could be discerned from the shadows. He kept to the shade and wouldn't come into the light, doing a sort of crab walk along the wall, miraculously sticking to it. Anamaria broke for the boat, Gibbs following her closely.

"What do ye bloody think you're you doing?" Jack shouted after them. They ignored him and continued to run. Jack moved to follow but Will grabbed his arm. The figure had moved closer, still not crossing the lit patches of ground. Though he remained in the shadow cast by the roof, his face could be seen clearly now.

"You are supposed to be dead," Jack stated, feeling strangely spun around.

Barbossa (who'd you think it was?) grinned revealing his dirty teeth and pointed. "This is a bit o' yer own medicine, Sparrow. Ya came back twice when I thought ye were dead. Now it be my turn."

"But the curse was broken," Will said loudly, making his statements even more obvious. "We all watched you die."

"Aye, the curse is still, for me, broken," Barbossa growled. He gesticulated his next words, smiling with a certain glee as he spread his arms. "But you see, I still can't die! I can feel now, thanks to a young lad who stopped in here 'bout four days past and granted me life without the bother of death." He leveled his pistol at them. "And I'll be takin' me ship back, if it's all the same to ye." He fired off a shot but missed. Jack and Will dove to the ground, Jack's hand touching the bloodstained gold. Will had fallen partially onto Jack and Barbossa was but a foot away, the barrel of his cherished second pistol touching Jack's temple.

"Don't move," Barbossa growled.

"_Blood undone, blood undone_," the voice said again and suddenly they weren't in the cave anymore.

…

The movie got out a few hours later and out of the blue Claudia thought she was a pirate. Coincidentally, there was an eye patch in the bag Ryoko had given her and she was ARRRRing and slashing at the air. The six teens slowly made their way to the mall.

About halfway there, as they were walking under a shaded portion of the sidewalk, Claudia burst out suddenly. "_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me! Du dunna du dunna du dunanana Drink up me hearties yo ho_!"

"Wait a minute," Ryoko interrupted. "You don't know the words?"

Everyone looked at her in a sort of caught-unawares expression.

"Fine," she snorted. "I'll sing."

She opened her mouth but stopped, noticing that they were all looking at her expectantly. Everyone waited while she blushed. "You start," she told Claudia.

With much glee, Claudia began the song again. "_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me_!"

"_We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot_," Ryoko sang aloud.

"_Drink up me hearties yo ho_!" everyone chorused in unison.

"_We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot_," Elizabeth sang as Ryoko pointed at her. "_Drink up me hearties yo ho_!"

"_Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me,"_

_"We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack,"_

_ "Drink up me hearties yo ho!"_

_ "Maraud and embezzle and even hijack!"_

_ "Drink up me hearties yo ho!" _Ryoko had lost her help on the last verses because no one had the words memorized. _"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"_

_ "We kindle and char and flame and ignite."_

_ "Drink up me hearties yo ho!"_

_ "We burn up the city we're really a fright!"_

_ "Drink up me hearties, yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me!"_

_ "We're rascals, scoundrels, villains and knaves. Drink up me hearties yo ho!"_

_ "Devils and black sheep," _she paused, holding her hands out to her friends.

_ "Really bad eggs," _everyone chorused_. "Drink up me hearties yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me."_

_ "We're beggars we're blighters, we're ne'er do well cads."_

_ "Drink up me hearties, yo ho! Aye but we're loved by our mommies and dads."_

_ "Drink up me hearties yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"_

The song was supposed to end there but Ryoko kept on going.

"_We drink and drink and drink until we pass out on the floor, and when we wake we get back up and drink and drink some more_!"

"What's that from?" Diana asked.

"Tubas," Elizabeth groaned, slapping her forehead in exasperation. "It's the tuba theme song. Only Ryoko knows all the words to that one."

"Drink up me hearties yo ho," Nick said wistfully.

"And really bad eggs," Claudia shouted, and the song started again. Suddenly there was a crash and a brilliant light blinded the six teens for a moment.

"Car!" Diana screamed in her screeching high voice. She dove to the ground along with Nick and Elizabeth. Robin, Claudia and Ryoko waved at the dust and tried not to choke on it as it settled to the pavement. Three shadows appeared a few feet away. Two were standing in front of a low tree. The third was underneath it, hidden in the shade.

"What the fuck?" Robin exclaimed, gasping down the dust. She swallowed her voice once the taller of the two shadows emerged. It was Orlando Bloom.

"Omigod!" she whispered, and fainted dead away, landing on the struggling Diana.

Bloom looked around, slightly confused. He took in Claudia's pink feathers and the cars moving on the street with a frightening interest.

"Can I have your autograph?" Claudia asked quickly. Ryoko was staring in shock, one eyebrow slightly higher than the other one as she tried to assess the situation.

"Excuse me?" Bloom asked in a confused tone. He had unsheathed his sword with a suggestive shwing sound.

"Put it away," another familiar voice told him. Claudia and Ryoko's eyes shifted to the man beside Bloom. It was Johnny Depp.

"No way," Claudia sighed in the utmost happiness. "It's not possible. Johnny Depp. Holy crap."

"Jack Sparrow, Captain, mind," he said, holding his hand out to her and Ryoko. "And this is William Turner."

He kissed Claudia's hand and she fanned herself. He went to repeat the motion with Ryoko and she shook it instead, her grip firm enough to make her point. He met her eyes with a strange expression. She took back her hand, flustered but not embarrassed. Claudia's face was beet red and she giggled. Ryoko hated silly gestures like that.

"Well," Jack said smiling. "I suppose the old broad wasn't kidding. The leader of the singing women, eh? Utterly splendiferous. Well, which'll it be, do ya wonder?"

"What are you talking about?" Will asked him, not understanding his companion's odd questions.

"What are you guys doing here?" Claudia asked, strangely calm.

"Well," Jack began. "I'm on a quest to find … something. Which of you is the leader?"

Claudia and Ryoko looked at each other, sizing each other up as Jack scrutinized them both. "We don't really have a leader." Claudia spoke. Ryoko smiled at her, as if she'd like to argue. Jack saw the exchange and smirked. They both looked at him expectantly and he shook his head.

"Very well," Jack said sighing. "If you _had _one, who would it be?" Diana and Elizabeth had managed to lift Robin's unconscious body, her arms on their shoulders. Nick was standing off to the back, not sure what to make of the situation.

"What do you think?" Ryoko asked Claudia, whispering so the men wouldn't hear.

"Well," Claudia said smiling. "You usually are the leader, kind of. But it's _my _birthday ..."

"I bought you those feathers!"

"I _invited _you."

"I helped you on your French homework."

"I gave you food practically _every day_."

"Fine. You can be leader today, but I get tomorrow."

They turned back to Jack and Will and Claudia stepped forward. "I'm the leader!"

He looked at her feathers with a cocked eyebrow. Ryoko sulked and Robin regained consciousness.

"How do we know you're really pirates and not some actors?" Nick asked. The girls all winced.

"They're not just _some _actors," Diana yelled at him. "Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom aren't just any actors."

"Well," Jack said. "There are things one can and cannot do."

"Is it just me or does that sound familiar?" Elizabeth asked

"You can believe that we need you to help us, or you can't," he continued, ignoring the girls' sighs. Ryoko started laughing and shaking her head.

"Yer forgettin' one thing, Jack Sparrow," a gravely voice called from behind. "I've still got this pistol aimed at ye." Barbossa stayed within the shade of the tree.

"Oh, man," Ryoko grinned. "Things just got a whole lot more exciting."

Jack sighed again and turned to face Barbossa. "What do you want?"

Barbossa smiled. "I would have thought that were obvious, Jack. I want me ship back, and you dead."

"How about we settle for something less than the ship and … somewhat _more_ than me ruddy life," Jack tried, smiling broadly. He motioned to the remaining girls behind him like a slaver and grinned.

Barbossa considered it for a moment, not having had the company of a woman in years. "I can always get yer ship later, and I'll undoubtedly outlive your mortal hide. I'll be takin' one of yer wenches then, pent up frustrations and all that."

There was a collective gasp where Lizzy screamed quietly and Diana screamed loudly. They didn't entirely believe that what was going on in front of them was real but the thought of Barbossa taking one of them with him was a little frightening.

Will stepped forward. "You can't take any of them!" He unsheathed his sword again with a clang. Barbossa smiled, pointing his pistol at Will.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that if I was you," Barbossa growled, his English less than perfect. He motioned for Will to move aside. He did so and Jack and Claudia moved the other way, Claudia taking the opportunity to latch onto Jack's arm. Barbossa looked at the remaining girls. Robin was glaring at him, Diana was hiding behind Nick. Elizabeth was holding onto Ryoko's arm with a death grip and Ryoko was looking at him with a bland rather unimpressed expression, her eyebrow raised again.

Barbossa stepped into the sun and winced. His face was shielded from the rays by the large brim on his hat and his hands were encased in white gloves. He walked up to the girls and scrutinized each one. Ryoko met his eyes and gave a smirk of indifference, making him smile. Elizabeth and Diana moved away. Robin refused to look at him, giving him a haughty cold shoulder.

"I'll take her," Barbossa growled, pointing at Ryoko. "She's got spice." She rolled her eyes and grabbed the pistol from Barbossa. He'd been looking at Jack and not paying attention. She leveled it at him.

"You think so?" she asked defiantly, grinning. She shot him, causing some of his blood to drip to the pavement. He only smiled as she gave him a shocked look.

"You _shot _him?" Nick exclaimed. "What if he's Geoffrey Rush?"

"He's not!" She exclaimed, moving as Barbossa reached for the firearm she'd taken. "If he were Rush he wouldn't smell like he hasn't bathed for weeks. Go home and tell everyone what's happened."

"No way," Nick exclaimed, brushing past his sister and the angry pirate. He followed Will and Jack. Jack picked up a bloody coin and held it up. He gave Ryoko a meaningful look, jerking his head in Barbossa's direction. That was as much help as she was going to get for Barbossa turned around and swung with his sword, aiming for Jack's neck. Ryoko grabbed his arm and pulled, knocking his balance off. Barbossa knocked into Diana, bringing forth a scream and suddenly, the woman's voice sounded around them again.

"_What blood undone! Blood undone_!" the voice shrieked. There was another flash in which most of the girls screamed and Ryoko emptied the pistol into Barbossa's chest. The cave came into focus and everyone was suddenly in awe. Diana picked up a diamond-encrusted tiara and placed it on her raven head. Elizabeth pawed through numerous jewels. The only ones not awestruck by the treasure were Will, Jack, and Barbossa. Ryoko had moved far away from Barbossa once the street had disappeared and now she was looking around for a weapon other than the spent gun.

Jack grabbed Claudia's arm and pulled her towards the exit. "Come on, girls! Unless you want to be trapped in this cave with ol' Barbie here." Everyone ran for the entrance, slowing once they were reduced to wading. The water wasn't as cold as they had expected. Jack pushed Claudia into it. "We're goin' to have to swim out, seeing as my faithful crew fled at the sight of the not-yet-dead." Ryoko ran as well.

"She stays," Barbossa shouted, pointing a thin index finger. His knobby joints could be seen even through the cloth of the gloves.

"Only if you can catch her, mate," Jack answered with a grin, flashing a few gold teeth.

Ryoko dove neatly into the water along with everyone else but a few seconds later, the surface erupted with a loud splash. Ryoko was lifted, kicking, biting, and scratching, by a man with long brown hair and pale skin.

"Ahh, Barton James," Barbossa croaked. "I was wonderin' where you'd got off to."

Jack turned and shot the new man, smoke from his pistol filling the air shortly. The smoke cleared and the man smiled. Holding Ryoko with one arm, he pulled back his ragged white shirt and revealed the wound. There was a round bullet hole seeping with blood. He dug into the hole with his white fingers and pulled out the bullet, flicking blood from it as he showed it around. He threw it into the water and everyone watched in fascination as his wound closed, not even leaving a scar.

"Let me introduce to you the man responsible for my resurrection and immediate invincibility. Name's Barton James. If you want to keep your lives I suggest you leave now."

Jack gave Ryoko a glance and dove beneath the water. Ryoko gave the retreating forms the finger. "Some friends you are! No matter that I would have saved your lives if I had to, or at least tried!" Elizabeth stopped, treading water and looking back. She began to swim towards her friend but a swarthy hand grabbed her and pulled her along.

Barton James carried the struggling girl to Barbossa and set her down amongst the treasure. "If you run, I will kill you," he told her in a deep voice.

She didn't respond. Her eyes were angry and her lip was curled in disgust.

"Have you gotten a ship yet?" Barbossa asked Barton.

"I've gotten two," he answered affirmatively. "Only problem is that the second one is a bit … odd."

"What would ye be meanin' by odd?"

"Well …" he said hesitantly. "I was goin' round and I found two ships, one being bombarded by the other. I went aboard the attacker first and bade the men to stop. These men are strangers to me. They spoke a strange language but also managed to know a bit of English. You'll see when I take you tonight. The other ship was an English privateer and you'll be pleased to know that locked within the brig were several pirates, a few of them familiar with you. We managed to take over the ship and kill those who wouldn't cooperate. A few of them decided the life of a pirate wasn't so bad after all."

Barbossa smiled and held out his hand. "Very good. When can we board?"

"Not until tonight. The sun's high right now."

"I have a question," Ryoko said, raising her hand as if she were in class. "A few, actually. Why can't you walk in sunlight? Why aren't you dead, oh yeah, and can I go now?"

"No, you cannot _go _now," Barbossa told her. "I'm not dead because Barton revived me using some weird death magic, and we cannot walk in sunlight because it burns the flesh."

"It wasn't death magic," Barton said. "It was only powerful blood."

"What are you," she asked. "Some kind of zombie?"

"Not zombies," Barbossa grinned and she caught sight of his elongated canines.

"Great," Ryoko said flatly. "This is going to be so easy to explain when I finally get home. I was kidnapped by pirate vampires and caught in some pirate war, not to mention I was sent about 250 years in the past. Did I mention my little brother was caught by pirates as well? Oh, yes. I am going to be grounded for another six months, probably a year just for fabricating such a lousy story, no matter that it happens to be true. Maybe you should just kill me."

Barbossa and Barton laughed. "There will always be time for that later, lass," Barbossa told her. "But since I'm not exceptionally hungry right now, I'll pass. What's yer name, by the way?"

"Ryoko," she spat.

His eyes narrowed. "What kind of a name is that?"

"It's Japanese for demon caller. If you try to eat me, I'll call the demons."

"We are demons," Barton told her.

"Well … then I'll call the other demons. Yeah, that's right. Don't give me that look, mister."

They looked at her in silence for a moment, blinking in confusion. "Stay in the cave," Barbossa told her. "You won't make it past either of us, so escape is impossible."

Ryoko only glared as Barbossa and Barton left. Jack the monkey peeked out from behind a rock. His big black eyes were illuminated by the gold. He came up and climbed into Ryoko's lap.

"I don't have any food for you, not that you can eat it," she told the monkey.

He cocked his head to the side and smiled his little monkey grin. She smiled back and once again began to look around the cave for a weapon.

…

It turned out Anamaria and Gibbs were in the little boat, floating just outside of the cave. They had been waiting for Jack and possibly Will but had not expected to have to ferry their captain and five other passengers, not including Will.

"You should take them with you," Jack suggested. "Once Barbossa gets a ship, he'll be coming after _the __Pearl _and I don't want too many women on board so I'd like them to go to Port Royal with you. This one is coming with me, however." He pointed at Claudia.

"Where would they stay?" Will asked.

"Don't you and Elizabeth have an estate?"

"Yes, but ..." Will blushed. "I don't think . . ."

Jack grinned. "I guess you don't practice swordsmanship three hours a day any more, eh?"

Nick started snickering and Gibbs stifled a laugh but other than that, he didn't get much of a reaction from the passengers. Robin was shaking her head, tragically understanding the perverted male humor.

"Well, come on," he exclaimed. "Don't tell me that went over your heads."

"I didn't get it," Diana said flatly.

"It's like this," Anamaria explained. "Our boy Will here got married to some rich woman in Port Royal and instead of practicing his sword skills, he's doing something else."

Claudia cracked up, along with Elizabeth but Diana was still staring blankly. Robin turned to Will and gasped. "You're married? Oh, the agony!" she grasped her heart and pretended to faint again.

"Well," Jack said as the small rowboat scraped along side the hull of the ship Will had sailed in on. "Here's your ride. And who will you be taking with you?"

"I'm going!" Robin exclaimed standing. The boat wobbled and nearly capsized but managed to keep stable as Robin climbed up the ladder and over the gunwales. Elizabeth followed.

"Well, go on. I can't stay here all day, off with you." Jack shooed them with his hands. He glanced at the last three passengers in the boat and looked to Will.

"The boy can stay with me as well," he pointed. "I need an apprentice anyways. What's your name?"

Nick looked up. "I'm Nick."

"Welcome, Nick," Will said, holding out his hand.

"Hurry it up!" Anamaria shouted. "The waves are smashin' us up 'gainst the hull."

Nick climbed over the gunwales and Diana suddenly gave Jack a murderous look.

"I'm not going with them," she announced. "You're crazy if you think I'm going to leave my friend alone with you pirates."

Jack met her eyes dangerously. "Fair enough, I suppose, but don't go crying to the law if we're a bit too … much for you." He nodded to Gibbs and he began to row. The four on deck waved the rowboat off. Gibbs backstroked to _the __Pearl _and Diana and Claudia climbed aboard.

"Morning men," Jack shouted with a smile. "These two ladies are off limits so, unless they say otherwise, you can't touch them."

Claudia pulled on Jack's sleeve. "What about Ryo?"

"What about her?"

"Aren't we going to save her?" Claudia asked. Diana agreed.

"Well, I figured she could handle 'erself," Jack answered. "She managed to empty a flintlock into Barbossa's chest six times. I'm sure she can find her way out. With a reload speed like that, I'd never duel her with pistols."

"But we have to save her!"

"She'll be fine until Barbossa gets a ship," Jack told her. "Barbossa himself isn't that dangerous. It's the crew that'll tear her apart." He walked the deck, Diana and Claudia following. He turned back to look at them.

"We're just going to leave her?" Diana asked.

"Pretty much," Jack said. "She's no use to me. The only person I need is the leader and you told me it was you."

"What if I refuse to help?" Claudia asked him stubbornly. Jack gave her a dark look and pulled out his pistol. He showed it to Claudia and cocked it.

"You see this?" he indicated the weapon. "I bet that, even if you run, I can hit you between the eyes, instantly killing you. You're going to help me whether I save your friend or not, savvy?" Claudia swallowed and nodded. Diana fainted, hitting the floor with a clunk. Jack smiled and Claudia had no doubt that for all his quirks, he was still a pirate.

Jack motioned with his hand. Claudia was locked in Jack's cabin and Diana was taken below to the sick bay. "Move out!" He holstered his empty weapon and empty threat as the sails were raised and filled with wind coming off the island. _The Black Pearl_ drifted a bit but once the wind caught the sails, she was moving incredibly fast.

Unknown to both Will and Jack, two ships were anchored on the other side of the island, one a plain English privateer deck, the other, decorated with green sails and a dragon ornament lancing from the bow.

Re-visited 8-1-06 (Pg 24) (Pg 12 unformatted) (This host forces me to use non-novella formatting.)


	3. Chapter II : Take Me to Your Leader

Back again? I'm surprised.

**Chapter II - Take Me to Your Leader**

Will climbed up over the side after the three newcomers and was met immediately by the bos'un. He didn't know the man personally, so he went to find the captain and explain. He didn't want them to be mistaken as stowaways. It was in a time of war, after all and anyone that looked suspicious might be killed on the spot. He left out the part about Jack Sparrow, Barbossa, and the trip through time, knowing full well how stupid he would sound. Frowning and looking worried, he ushered Lizzy, Robin, and Nick below decks.

"Now stay here," he told them. "And don't mention Jack. Many of these men were under Norrington when he went after him and they'll not hesitate to drag you straight to the Commodore once we're on land."

"Where is Jack taking them?" Nick asked.

"I cannot speak of it now," Will answered a bit stressfully. "Wait until we're in Port Royal to discuss it. I don't want to be overheard."

"What about Ryoko?" Lizzy asked angrily. She wasn't one to fall for just any pretty face. "We can't leave her there!"

"We cannot save her either," Will answered. "My guess is she'll save herself, or Jack'll go back for her." He glanced at Robin. "Was the girl in the feathers your captain?"

"We don't have a captain," Robin said blandly. "But if there was one, it'd probably be Ryoko, not Claudia. I think she said something about it being Claudia's birthday privilege to be the leader. And since when do _you_ leave damsels in distress behind?"

Will smiled. "Jack will be back in that cave once he finds out. He needs the leader for some reason. Something about an old woman and his heir. Far be it from me to save his charge." He heard footsteps on the stairs and he stood. "I'll speak to you later." He ran up the stairs to the deck.

"I don't get it," Robin said. "Is this a dream? Did I fall asleep during the movie?"

"I don't think it's a dream," Lizzy answered. "I'm here too so …."

"It could be a dream," Nick said. "You're dreaming of us, and we're dreaming of you."

They thought about that for a minute. Robin pinched Nick.

"Hey!" he shouted.

"Did it hurt?"

"Yeah! Why'd you do that?"

"I guess it's not a dream," Lizzy concluded.

…

Ryoko felt tired though it was only about five. Looking about for a relatively comfortable resting place, she climbed upon the closed chest of Cortez and fell asleep. She used her arms as a pillow and wasn't surprised when she easily fit on the lid. Once her breathing grew long and somewhat peaceful, Jack the monkey crawled over timidly. He jumped up and sat on her shoulder, pulling softly on her hair. She shifted sideways and he tumbled to the floor.

She hadn't been asleep for long when a hand lighted on her shoulder. She immediately woke up and unsheathed a beautiful saber she'd found earlier, pointing it at the one who'd awoken her. Barton backed away, a smile on his face.

"I can't kill you with bullets," she spat. "But I sure as hell can slice your fucking head off. I'd like to see you get up after that one."

"It's almost dark," he answered nonchalantly. "We move out as soon as the sun sets beneath the horizon."

"Great, you're leaving me here?" Ryoko asked bluntly.

"No," Barton answered. "You're coming with us to meet Barbossa's new crew."

"Don't you mean crews?"

"He'll really be Commodore Barbossa," Barton answered. "He gets the privateer ship, and I get the other. He'll be in command of two ships. Jack Sparrow gave him the idea before he killed him."

"I know," Ryoko answered, not as afraid as she should have been. Jack jumped to her shoulder and looked around with his little monkey eyes.

"Let's go," Barton ordered, reaching for her arm. Jack screeched and he pulled away. The monkey showed an obvious dislike to the man and Ryoko could see why. Barbossa did not look too terrifying but Barton had the eyes of a demon and the teeth of a snake. His shaggy hair did not improve matters much and instinct took over in Jack.

Barton glared at the animal and in a lightning quick move, grabbed the monkey around the throat and hurled him at the wall. Being a monkey, Jack put out his little black feet and bounced harmlessly off the hard rock surface. Barton snarled with contempt and seized Ryoko's arm with an iron like grip, dragging her out of the cave.

They splashed through the caverns and came to an old, patched up rowboat.  
"That doesn't look too safe to me," Ryoko balked. "It looks like it's been here for ten years."

"Twenty, actually," Barbossa corrected. He stepped out from the shadows and smiled. Ryoko grimaced at him and stepped into the boat. Jack ran up and hopped onto Barbossa's shoulder. Barton rowed the boat out of the cavern and Ryoko looked out at the sky.

"You can actually see the stars," she commented in slight wonder. "No such thing as smog yet. Probably don't have an ozone hole either. Lucky, but then again, you also don't have flushing toilets. Or microwaves. Can you even imagine how inconvenient it is without a microwave? And video games! How do you guys live? Man, I miss Master Chief already!"

"Quit yer yappin'," Barbossa growled. The rowboat was converging with the privateer vessel. Once the hulls scraped, Barbossa whistled. A dusty rope ladder was thrown down. He motioned Barton up, then Ryoko. He followed after and the crew applauded as he put his booted feet upon the deck.

"Evenin' gents," he growled. "I doubt you've forgotten me so quick. Who here's sailed with me?" More than half of the crew raised their hands and cheered. Barbossa smiled for a moment, then his eyes narrowed as he shouted at them.

"Then someone tell me why you're on this ship and not in a prison or dead."

Silence. A man stepped forward.

"What's your name, man?" Barbossa asked him.

"Peter Mullick, sir," he answered timidly. "These pirates were being shipped out of Port Royal, sir. They were to be punished elsewhere."

"So 'at's whot dey was doin'!" A familiar voice said in wonder. A thin man with dirty blond hair moved forward.

"Master Ragetti?" Barbossa asked.

"The one and on'y," he answered, blinking. "An' now I gots me a glass eye, 'stead o' that 'orrible wooden one."

"And what be of Pintel?" Barbossa asked. "Grapple, Mallot? What about Twigg?"

"Pintel's 'ere," Ragetti answered and after a bit of thought. "An' Twigg too, and everyone else, 'ceptin' the ol' bos'un Abuta. Grapple was kilt, I thinks."

"Well, enough," Barbossa said with a grin. He reached for Ryoko, grabbing her behind the neck and throwing her to the floor. "This here's one of Jack Sparrow's women. Have some fun, gents."

Ryoko stood at once, looking around nervously, finally showing some fear. Dirty grins surrounded her and the smell of the pirates was stifling. She'd never been a fan of sweaty sailor musk. One large man grabbed the back of her delicate shirt, tearing a large hole down the back.

"Oh, hell no," she cursed, whirling and drawing the saber. Her whirling caused the shirt to rip further, showing off a plain black bra. The pirates stopped, perplexed at such a garment on a Caucasian. Sensing confusion, Ryoko slashed across the one holding her shirt's arm. She kicked another in the groin before they figured that they might need their blades.

Before anyone could cut her, she snagged a pistol and was off running. Equipped with longer legs, the pirates easily outran her, surrounding the girl once again. She aimed over her arm and shot one at point blank range, blowing brains and blood over various pirates. There were shouts of surprise. None of them had expected such conflict.

A saber sliced down her leg, creating a slit in her pants, not to mention cutting a thin line down her leg. Up until that point, she had managed to avoid pain. The addition of it only made her angrier. She shot the one responsible for the cut and blanched when the weapon clicked. It was only a one shot pistol. The men jeered at her and she tossed the empty weapon at the one who'd sliced her.

She ripped the last of the shirt from her arms and threw it at one of them as well, hitting him in the face. Wielding the blade a bit wildly, she managed to back the closest off. She snatched another pistol and shot at them but they were still closing. She almost tripped and realized there were stairs beside her. Without a glance to the men, she ran in between the stairs to a door.

Once she was in her place of comfort with the door at her back, she turned to look at the pirates. They couldn't all fit at the same time so she began to cut them down with the saber. She wasn't all that spectacular with it since she'd never used one before. Knowing she wouldn't last long, she seized another pistol, this one different from the others. It had multiple barrels and triggers. She fired them all at once and the gun bucked out of her tiny hands. Catching it again, she threw the empty gun into the fray and winced as several guns were cocked and pointed at her.

She smiled nervously. "So … uh … any good jokes lately?"

"Nice scar, bitch," one growled. "Looks like it was made by a sword."

Ryoko glanced down at her shoulder. "Oh, well, you know. It's rough where I come from." 'Does a scalpel count as a sword?' she wondered.

"You could almost pass fer one of us," another told her.

"Yes, we're ultimately the same," she spoke to them with a smirk. "Except for a few little things like a dental plan, a three digit IQ and an infinitely better nose for personal hygiene."

"An' she's a girl," Ragetti pointed out what to him must have been painfully obvious. The cleavage was a bit distracting to some of the more mundane pirates.

"Covered in scars and fightin' your way to the top. Look at 'er neck, and her chest. This one's been fightin' lots." Twigg pointed.

Ryoko found the scar just below her under wire. 'Good grief,' she thought to herself. 'They're making a big deal over surgery scars.' She ran a hand along the wall behind her and found a doorknob. Twisting it slowly she found that it was conveniently unlocked.

"Look! A pelican!" she shrieked pointing completely opposite of her. Nearly every one of the gullible pirates turned to look, the exception being Barbossa, who was watching the scene.

"Where's the pelican?" an ugly pirate asked. When he turned back, Ryoko was gone and the door was locked.

"She tricked us!" Pintel screeched.

"And you deserved it, fallin' for that horrible pelican trick," Barbossa told him. "Not only was it exceptionally out of place, pelicans don't fly at night, ya cack-handed deck apes."

"That was very amusing," Barton commented flatly. "Would you like to see the other ship now?"

…

Ryoko looked around the room into which she had 'escaped'. It was nicely furnished compared to the rest of the ship. She opened drawers and chests looking for clothes and struck gold when she came to an old bureau. Unfortunately, everything in the drawers was much too big for her. She tried a pair of pants on, amazed that the waistline could be extended a foot and a half away from her body.

Finally, after searching, she found a few dresses. She knew fighting would be hard in the dresses but it was better than going out topless or with a shirt baggy enough to be used as a sail. She found that the dresses were still too long. Of course, it was better than nothing, something that was usually true considering clothing. She picked out a green one and somehow got everything on right, noticing that her scars still showed in the dress, as well as other, less painful things.

To her immediate joy, she also found several loaded pistols as well as two rifles. She took a belt and holster from the drawers and fastened them around her waist, tightening the belt as far as it would go. Seeing as the belt was designed for a large man, she had to make a few extra holes to allow it to fit her smaller waist. She kept her boots because not only were the shoes in the room too precarious to be fighting pirates in, they were too big for her tiny feet.

"I wish there were some pants in here at least," she growled. "I wouldn't be caught dead in this frilly piece of disaster. Those bastards'll not take me down without a fight. I'll kill if I have to." And she had. Even now, the men were tossing bodies overboard due to the day's excitement. If only Barbossa had known what he had begun to create, he may have never picked the girl with the insubordinate face.

She sat facing the door and prepared for whatever would come through it. Loaded for bear, or at least horny or homicidal pirates.

…

Barbossa climbed over yet another gunwale and stared in shock. This new crew wasn't constructed of English pirates. They were Eastern pirates, Asian.

A swarthy man with a small moustache and shaggy black hair walked up to Barbossa and bowed. His clothing was unique, making the two Englishmen seem pale by comparison.

"This is Tsun Shu," Barton introduced. "He's the bos'un for this ship. He speaks a little English."

"I work now for you?" Tsun Shu asked in broken English.

"Yes," Barbossa answered. "You all work for me now. The rewards will be great." A thin woman with extremely long hair emerged from somewhere and she fixed a glare on Barbossa.

"This man tell me you can get Jack Sparrow," she indicated to Barton.

"Ah," Barbossa grinned. "You want to kill him too? Take a number, missy." In a flash, she was at his throat, a thin blade pressed to his white skin.

"I'm not human dear," he told her, his confidence thick as hominy. "That little razor of yours won't kill me."

"Silver blade," she whispered, smiling sweetly. Barbossa laughed but faltered when she didn't move. He looked to Barton.

Barton shrugged. "So I forgot to mention silver. It's bad. You won't heal it as quickly and it can kill you if used right."

Barbossa sighed and looked back to the girl. "All right. I'll help you get Sparrow." She smiled and removed the knife.

He rubbed his neck, giving her a dirty look. "Who are you anyways?"

"I Mei Lin," she answered. "My idiot brother is … was captain of ship. He … was killed by him." She pointed bluntly at Barton. She did not hesitate out of sorrow for her brother, however. She was just having issues using the past tense in English.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Barton asked, slightly amused.

She smiled again. "No. He was idiot. You do favor."

Barton nodded, relieved that she wasn't out for his blood.

Barbossa waved, leaving Barton in command but Mei Lin pulled out her knife again.

"I captain of this ship now," she growled. "My family right. I kill you if you get in way!"

Barton put up his hands and followed the annoyed Barbossa down to the rowboat.

"Follow my ship, Mei Lin," Barbossa shouted and before she could object, he began to row away.

"Chinese?" Barbossa asked Barton angrily. "I'd rather you'd brought me a crew of Scotts but the heathens?"

"They aren't heathen, really," Barton told him nervously. "They are very civilized, and I don't think pirates have any right in calling others heathen."

"Yeah, well that wench wasn't very civilized. She's wilder than that girl locked in the cabin right now."

…

Jack Sparrow unlocked his cabin door and walked into total darkness. Suddenly, fists began pummeling him from the blackness and he realized Claudia was still inside. He pushed her to the ground and managed to light a candle before she could attack him again.

"Now that was completely unnecessary," he told her, helping her to her feet. She had removed her Doc Martins and was padding around the room in stocking clad feet.

"Did you go back to get her?" Claudia asked eagerly.

"I already told you I wouldn't," Jack answered, shrugging off his coat.

"But what if she gets … raped or something?" Claudia yelled, her voice growing tinny.

"Like I said," Jack Sparrow told her making a rather affronted face, shocked that a girl would be so blunt. "She looked like she could handle herself. And pirates such as Barbossa do not practice such monstrosities. According to the ninth Article of Piracy, a well to do woman cannot be touched without her consent or the man responsible is subject to death, or worse, Moses' Law."

"She's strong," Claudia said, not really listening but following him around persistently. "But against several grown men? What if … what are the articles of piracy?"

"As terrified for her safety as you may be, rest assured that Barbossa does _not _have several men," Jack replied, pouring a red liquid in two exquisite goblets, no doubt stolen from somewhere. "He doesn't even have a ship. The Articles of Piracy are what the whole code is about, luv. Moses' Law is where the guilty man meets up with the Captain's Daughter, thirty-nine times." As usual, he managed to answer a question without actually making any sense.

"He does _what _with the captain's daughter?" Claudia asked in confusion.

Jack sighed and walked over to an old cabinet. He extracted a bundle of leather cords and unwound them. He gave them a whirl and cracked the whip. The sound was impressive and he gave her a ravishing grin as he put it away. "I just _love _that sound. That was the Captain's Daughter. The Cat o' nine tails. A man condemned to serve Moses' Law gets lashed thirty-nine times."

"Why not forty?" Claudia asked.

"Why not thirty-eight?" Jack retorted with a childish smirk. "Have a drink." He threw back the red liquid and swallowed loudly. Claudia sipped at it tenuously, not trusting liquor she didn't know. It tasted like wine to her, but she knew better than to accept a drink from a man she didn't know, even if he was absolutely gorgeous.

"You know," Jack told her, not the slightest bit woozy. "For being a captain, you don't seem to fight or drink like one. How do you control those girls? One would pay dearly for such a secret … the one holding the information could ask almost any price."

"Well," Claudia answered, slightly abashed. "We don't really have a … captain."

"Oh, come now," Jack leaned forward. "There must be something you want enough to let me know how it's so effortlessly done."

"Uh … yeah," Claudia smirked. "Go get Ryo out of that damned cave."

"Let me rephrase … something within my parameters." He smiled in what he must have though was a seductive smile. She fought the urge to laugh at him.

"Really, we don't control each other," she answered with a smile. "We're just friends. We don't have a leader, captain, whatever.

"But if you _did_," Jack told her. "It would be the one who would be able to fight or, if need be, _talk _her way out of problems ending in conflict. One who pays attention and exploits the presence of technicalities." He leaned closer with every word and smiled at her, his teeth winking in the dim light.

"Well," Claudia said again, blushing at his attempts. "That sounds more like Ryo."

"You know," he told her, leaning in even further. "I _did _wonder about her. She acted as though she was a leader, so to speak. After she shot Barbossa, she told the others to accompany you. And while we're at it, how did she load the gun so fast? She shot him six times within the space of about ten seconds. It takes me that long just to load one shot."

"I guess it was a multi-shot gun," Claudia answered, nonplussed by the idea.

"Multi-shot? There's no such thing as multi-shot," Jack replied as if speaking to a child. "You prime it, then add your gun powder, then your shot! Unless it was a volley gun, and it sure didn't look it to me. Volley guns have multiple barrels."

"But she shot him six times!" Claudia exclaimed. "You said it yourself."

"No other explanation," Jack answered. "She was carrying her own gun."

"No she wasn't," Claudia told him. "We'd have known about it! She took Barbossa's gun and shot him with it. Weren't you watching? She couldn't have hidden a gun in that outfit, anyway."

"There must be some explanation to this," Jack answered. "Six shots and never another loading."

"Maybe they went forward in time?" Claudia suggested. "They could have gone through a hundred years and taken guns. What year is this, anyway?"

"1758. It's possible, I suppose." Jack pondered. "But how would they have done it?"

"The coin?"

"I don't even know how _we _got into the future," he admitted.

"Ahh," Claudia sighed. "I wonder where Ryo is. She's probably giving Barbossa hell."

"That's what I did best for awhile," Jack answered with a laugh. "He'd thought he'd killed me, but unfortunately for him, Captain Jack Sparrow doesn't die very easily." Claudia laughed along with him but quieted instantly when he pointed at her.

"You still haven't told me how you control your friends," Jack accused. "If I knew how easily you did it, I could be the captain of captains."

"We _don't _control each other," Claudia answered again. "Unless blackmail comes into play. Then, anything seems to be fair game."

"And do you usually blackmail them?"

"Not to any success. This is the stupidest conversation I've ever had!" Claudia stood, losing her patience. "You want the answer to how people are controlled, ask Ryo. She should be an expert by now in the situations she keeps getting thrown into. And you want to know another thing? If we had a leader, it'd probably be her, not me." To anyone else, this would have been an insignificant bit of information, but to Captain Jack Sparrow, this was vital.

"You mean _she's _the captain?" he not so much shouted as grunted, jumping to his feet.

Claudia backed up in alarm. "I guess so."

"You!" he moved towards her but thought better of it, clenching his hands and itching to shoot something. He put a hand nervously to his lips and paced. "You mean to tell me that I left the one I need in the hands of me enemy?"

Claudia shrugged and backed slowly towards the door, picking up her boots on the way. "I'm gonna go check on Diana now," she answered, opening the door and making a break for the lower deck. Jack looked after her and he wasn't exactly ecstatic with the fact that he might have to backtrack. He pulled out his compass and watched the dial spin for a moment. It pointed sternward, back the way they'd come.

"Damn. Bloody women. This next one better not be more pain than she's worth." He strode from the cabin and found the boatswain.

"Gibbs!" he shouted. "We need to head back to the cave."

…

Ryoko soon realized that the guns she had discovered only held one shot each and it occurred to her that the pistols she had shot Barbossa with before was not in the same category. She didn't know much about guns and was relieved that these were already loaded. She wouldn't be able to use them if they hadn't been.

Also, not being the greatest at thinking ahead, she had strapped knives to her thighs, calves, and forearms with the various cravats she had found, most of which were covered by the bulbous dress she was wearing. The belt cinched around her waist not only had two out of five guns she'd found, but a cutlass as well.

In fact, when the door of the cabin was unlocked from the outside and opened, she had shot two guns and had the cutlass unsheathed before she realized it might have been someone less than hostile. Luckily, it was Barbossa who opened the door and shut it behind him, unfazed by the two balls wedged in the door.

He looked her up and down. "Nice dress."

"Shut the hell up," she told him with actual venom in her voice. "Your men left me no choice but to find clothing."

Barbossa smiled and slowly walked towards her. "You did me a damage today, miss Demon Caller. In fact, it exactly is why I've decided that the best place in the ship for ye is down below. You see," he moved to touch her face and she stepped out of rang. He continued unfazed. "This privateer ship was one of the Royal Navy's rejects. 'Tis a Ship o' the Line knockoff and has a grand total of _three _gun decks. Now, I bet that when this ship was built, the brig was left for last and was strangely squeezed into the third and bottommost gun deck instead of the main cargo hold the level below. Now, instead o' removing all yer weapons, I've decided just to lock the hatch to the third deck. With the two top decks, me men won't be tanglin' with ya and you can't hurt any more of 'em."

Ryoko didn't entirely understand what he was talking about but she did catch that she was going to be locked down. Barbossa reached for her and she slashed out with the cutlass. Being what he now was, he deftly caught the edge of the blade between two fingers and jerked it out of her grasp. He then brought out his own pistol and pointed it at her head. She could clearly see that he had more than one shot and she wondered why.

He motioned and she walked toward the door. He pointed her down five levels of stairs, the first being a multi purpose area where a kitchen and other such things were kept, the Galley. The second level was half sickbay, half cargo hold. Several large hogsheads and barrels sat tied to the walls to prevent shifting. The last three decks were the said gun decks. The first two were full of jeering pirates, full of foul words and fouler smells. This ship was huge.

The last deck held cannons spaced at regular intervals, their separate little hinged windows closed for the moment. There were a series of cells, each with a lock panel. Barbossa shoved her into one and locked the panel, taking the keys with him.

"Wait!" Ryoko shouted, thinking back to _The Mummy Returns_. "I need to go to the bathroom!"

"Well, you can just go there," Barbossa answered harshly.

"Please! I'm a woman! I can't aim!"

Barbossa made a face but unlocked the cell and yanked her painfully towards the stairs. When they were above decks again, he grinned. "This way to the _jardine_."

"The garden?" she asked. "Why is it called the garden?"

"Oh, so ya know a bit of French eh?" Barbossa growled.

"Sure," she shrugged. "Why's it called that?"

"Buccaneer word. Originated with French sailors. You done askin' questions missy?"

"No, not really," she replied sweetly, smiling annoyingly up at him.

"How 'bout I just shoot ya?"

"Why haven't you yet?"

Barbossa smiled. "I need bait to get Jack to come back don't I?"

Ryoko frowned. "Why would he come back?"

"Aren't ya one of his women?"

Ryoko couldn't help but smile at that. She was still smiling when they emerged on the top deck and headed to the bow. She kept that smirk right up until she saw a disgusting sight and she realized why pirate ships smelled so bad. A man was squatting in a hole. His waste would go right into the sea, and to make matters worse, there was no privacy what so ever. There was no way she was going to bare herself in front of all these men, and there was no way to escape either. The sea was dark and churning violently.

"I've changed my mind," Ryoko said quickly. "I don't need to go to the bathroom after all."

Barbossa growled. "Yer goin' now."

Ryoko shook her head and backed away slowly.

Barbossa tightened his grip on her arm.

"If you make me go, I'll jump over the edge," she told him. "And then where will your bait be?"

He grinned. "Fortunately, Jack won't know you've gone."

She crossed her arms and looked stubbornly away. "I'm not movin'."

Barbossa sighed and dragged her back down the stairs, locked her in her small cell again and left with the key securely in his pocket.

"This bites," she said to no one. "At least when Jack was in prison, he had a dog with a key. I don't even have a ring on the wall." She sulked for a bit and was lulled to sleep by the churning of the ship. Her golden hair pooled around her head and in the fading lantern light, she looked as if she belonged in that era.

…

_The Black Pearl _was cutting through the water at a grueling speed for a ship. Having just been careened (a process where barnacles and other such growth is removed from the bottom of a ship and the hull is caulked with waterproof substances) the hull was shooting along uninhibited, hardly taking on excess bilge water.

Jack Sparrow was manning the helm, eager to reach the caves before dawn. There wasn't a moon and the few stars out illuminated a vast ocean. A few dots obscured the horizon and Jack brought out a scope, sweeping the sight across the far line. He spotted two ships and a small island, to which coast they were moored. He made a mental note to scope out further once they came within range of the ships.

As _the Pearl _drew closer, Anamaria slid into the helm area and told Jack that one of the ships was flying a foreign flag and the other seemed to be a privateer.

Not much could be seen in the darkness but Jack continued to scope out the ships at regular intervals. Once he could make out the flag, he sent a brief order for the anchors to be thrown.

"It's the Lin clan," he whispered in fear. He remembered his brief encounter with the Lins in the East China Sea. "If I'm not mistaken, those sails will be poison green." Anamaria looked worried. Jack cursed loudly and threw the scope down. "Barbossa's taken the privateer, but how?"

Once _the __Pearl _was safely stopped, Jack ordered a rowboat to be lowered. Only he went on, not keen of endangering his crew, or so they thought. He told them that if within an hour's time, he had not returned, to sail out in the opposite direction.

"It'll be leeward anyways," he said. "There's no way _the __Dragon _or the privateer will catch you." He unlashed the lines and began to row off, staying far to the privateer's port to keep to her blindspot. Once he got far enough to his right, _The __Poison Dragon _wouldn't be able to see him.

He used a backwards rowing technique because it was easier to go farther. Once he was under the privateer, the ship looming over his head, he tied the boat to the anchor line and shimmied in through a hole cut for a bilge pump. Once he was completely inside, he looked around the dark bilge, looking for the light that would show him the way to the above deck. He splashed through the sewer like bilge leakage and listened beneath the hatch for voices or anything that would signify crewmen. Hearing nothing, he opened the trap and hoisted himself into the lighted deck.

He took in the scene carefully and was massively relieved that he didn't have to go up any more decks. He had thought that he might have had to get into the captain's cabin to rescue the girl. It looked to him as if she was asleep, her hair unbraided and pooling around her head. Her green dress served as both a cushion and a blanket.

Jack moved quickly, hoping that no one would come below. He surveyed the lock and took out a paring knife. After a few minutes of tinkering, the lock still wouldn't open. He looked around, hoping there were keys around. Having no luck, he returned to the lock. He thought a few minutes and then remembered something. He looked around behind him and found just the thing he needed. He created a simple lever mechanism with a box full of what seemed to be 2-pound balls. Using several oars as the lever, he managed to lift the door from its hinges.

"Thank you, Will," he whispered, carefully moving the door so as not to alert anyone by sound. He stepped into the cell and was promptly held to the wall by Ryoko and her acquired dagger.

"What took you so long?" she asked him, her breath warm on his neck where she held the blade.

"Well," Jack answered, swallowing. "I figured you could handle the situation. Let's go." He took her hand away from him and pulled her out of the cage. She yanked her hand back but followed him as he moved towards the bilge trap again. Footsteps above made him halt. He took the dagger from Ryoko and jammed it into the handle on the above door. "That's bought us a few seconds at most," he told her. "Come on."

Instead of going through the bilge, he attempted to pull a cannon out of the way. After a few seconds of grunting, listening to the distressing noises above, Ryoko joined him, taking the other side. They were able to move the cannon and he opened up the little window. "Ladies first." Ryoko slid out the window and hit the water with a faint splash. Jack followed just seconds before the door was broken down. The window slammed shut and Barbossa only caught a glimpse, not enough to know whom it was.

Ryoko was floundering in the heavy dress but still making some progress towards the boat as it had not been completely saturated just yet. She reached the side and Jack pushed her over, hacking the line securing it to the anchor. Using the side of the privateer's hull as leverage, he got into the boat himself. "We're out of here," he said to himself, rowing swiftly. Ryoko watched the ship behind her.

"They've seen us," she told him. "Can they get us from here?"

"We'll find out soon enough," he answered. A cannonball whistled through the air, landing in the water just to the left of the small boat. The shockwave capsized the rowboat, sending Jack and Ryoko into the sea.

"Great," Jack sputtered as he surfaced. "I was so worried about Barbossa I forgot _the __Dragon_." He expected Ryoko to surface but the sea was silent. "Oh bugger," he cursed, diving below. He couldn't see much in the darkness but the dress came with built in petticoats, white against the blackness of the water.

She was still conscious and was battling to rise, the heavy fabric dragging her down now that it had lost the air trapped within its folds. She saw him coming and waved frantically. He made a few motions indicating that she was to take off the dress but she shook her head and reached for him. If he could have sighed, he would have. Paddling to her, he took out a knife and made a few slashing motions. Ignoring her angry thrusts, he tore open the bodice and pulled her out, having to cut through the belt as well. Adrenaline gave way to strength and she was freed.

Kicking free of the dress and shoving at the pirate, she propelled herself to the surface. She gasped and sucked in several lungs of air. Jack pulled her down again and moved toward the silhouette of the rowboat. There was still a little bit of air left underneath and it was safer than trying to merely swim to _the __Pearl_. Every once in a while, Jack would peek out and check their direction and eventually, they reached the ship. They were hauled aboard and Ryoko went into one of her rants.

"What is it with pirates and stripping?" she exclaimed. Jack motioned for the ship to be turned around. The other ships were already coming after them. "Barbossa's men all decided I was lunch and ripped my favorite shirt and now this guy saws open my dress! I don't care how gorgeous you are. Nobody just rips open my clothing! Bloody pirates!"

"You would have drowned," he pointed out. He then took a step back and looked her up and down. She was wearing the black bra and matching underwear with the knives still strapped to her legs. He grinned and met her eyes. She glared back and the air nearly ignited with the fury of her gaze. Jack nervously stepped back a pace and motioned her towards an ornately designed door. She stepped through without a word and he shut the door.

Claudia had returned and she was surprised to see her friend. "Why are you nearly naked?" Claudia asked. Ryoko looked down at herself. In addition to bra and underwear, she had her boots and the knives she'd strapped to her legs and arms. It looked like a terribly poor version of bondage. "I'll explain later," Ryoko answered. "Are there any clothes in this place?"

Ten minutes later, Ryoko was dressed in Jack's clothing and had the knives placed in various places around her body. She had re-braided her hair and her boots and … undergarments were drying by the door.

"You know," Claudia said when Ryoko was finished cinching a red scarf around her waist to keep the pants up. "As short as Jack may be, those pants still go past your heels."

"Shut up." Ryoko told her. "You're just as short as I am."

"Yeah, well," Claudia added. "I'm not dressed in men's clothing."

"Shut up!"

…

Mei Lin grimaced as the boat capsized. Her men had missed and she was sure Jack was going to get away. But no matter. There was always time for revenge later. She gave the order for the ship to weigh anchor and chase.

…

Barbossa had given a similar order on his ship and the two ships converged almost simultaneously, rubbing hulls and breaking things. In their dilemma, _The Black Pearl _weighed anchor and about faced, now being leeward and in favorable winds. The black sails in effect vanished within minutes and the two enemy captains mentally slapped themselves and tried to physically slap each other. And the Sparrow laughed the whole way.

…

Ta. (Pg 20 for the unformatted, pg 40 for the formatted.)


	4. Chapter III : To Port

"Stop blowing holes in my ship!"

Mungojerry; Well, 'at was pointless.

Jack; Only to a cat with a cockney accent.

Mungojerry; Oi'm gon' sit on ya if ya don't leave me 'lone.

Jack; *sigh* I wish he'd threaten readers and not the author.

**Chapter III – To Port **

Elizabeth Talbott leaned over the railing and hurled her insides out through her mouth. After two hours below, she was thoroughly sick from the tips of her dark brown hair to her toes. Robin rubbed her back soothingly as Liz tried to control her stomach. Nick was above decks, trying his best to stay out of everyone's way.

"I think I'm gonna die!" Liz exclaimed, putting her hands to her temples. "Does anyone have an aspirin?"

"Caffeine!" Robin cried. "I heard that's supposed to help with headaches." Granted it was generally the _lack_ of caffeine that created the headache, but in the age of coffee induced insomnia, that was to be expected.

"Great," Liz moaned. "Go find some tea. I'll be in the sick bay." She attempted to stumble towards the stairs but the ship listed gently to the side and Liz fell to her knees, dry heaving over the deck. Robin helped her up and led her down the stairs. Laying her on a flimsy cot, Robin put a cold cloth on her friend's head and a bucket beside the cot. Liz drifted off to sleep, her face damp with sweat. Robin watched her for a moment and decided to grab a breath of fresh air.

She emerged on the main deck to find the sky lacking in clouds. No one else seemed to be puking their guts out so to speak, so Robin went to find Will. She located him after some help from an officer and told him of Liz's plight.

Will rushed below and put a hand to Liz's cheek. Liz blinked in the darkness. "DJ?"

"She's really sick," Robin pointed out. "Can we get her some tea or something with caffeine?"

"Caffeine?" Will asked in a bewildered manner. "What's that?"

Robin slapped her head. "I forgot. You don't know. Any tea?"

"She'll just spit it all up again. It's better to give her water in small rations otherwise, she'll dehydrate."

Robin nodded and accepted a pail of water and ladle from Will.

"It's slightly diluted with rum to kill off anything in the water. She shouldn't be able to taste it much after what she's gone through." Will pulled a bench over from the wall and Robin and he sat on it. Robin carefully tipped the ladle to Liz's lips and the girl sipped tenuously.

"She has the same name as my wife," Will said absently, smiling and looking younger then he really was. Robin fainted inwardly and sighed outwardly.

"You know," Robin told him. "You look great in a blond wig and elf ears. Do you really have a tattoo of an elfish nine on your hand?"

Will looked at her, even his confused face cuter than most. He put his hands out in front of him and looked at them. Robin laughed at him.

"For some reason you seem to think I'm someone else," he told her.

"Oh, no," Robin told him. "You just remind me of this guy I … know named Orlando Bloom, who could be a pirate, a blacksmith, an elf, drive a helicopter, and a number of other things."

Will smiled and nodded, feeling complimented, but then frowned.

"What is a helicopter?"

"Never mind," Robin sighed again.

…

Ryoko and Claudia sat on the bunk in the cabin and recounted each others' stories. Claudia had jimmied the lock on the cabinet holding beverages and, after several hazardous taste testing, had found a jar of fresh water. Knowing full well how scarce such a thing was on the sea, they only allowed themselves a little bit.

Jack was elsewhere, manning the helm and scoping aft to make sure _The Poison Dragon _and the privateer weren't on their stern. The crew had given a raucous cry of glee when the two ships had shaved each other's hulls.

"Hey!" Ryoko suddenly piped. "Where's Diana?"

"I think she's in the sick bay," Claudia thought aloud. "And in fact, I'm going to go find her. We don't want her agreeing to anything she might not understand, like a proposition."

"I thought it was just prepositional _phrasing _she didn't understand. Later," Ryoko waved. "I'm going to sleep right here. If Jack doesn't like it, he'll have to use a forklift to get me up, and since they don't have one on this ship, not to mention they don't exist yet, it's unlikely that that'll happen. Good night." Ryoko opened the lantern windows and extinguished the lights by flicking the flames out.

After an hour, Ryoko was still awake and Claudia had not returned. She padded to the door and made sure it was locked. She then took her undergarments, now dry, and put them on. "No more commando for me," she muttered. She padded back to the bed, tripping on the hem of the pants she was wearing, and sprawling to the floor.

"Sucks being short," she mumbled to herself, climbing to her feet and plopping down on the bed. "This guy isn't even seven inches taller than me and I still can't walk."

One more hour passed and she realized she had to go. Go where, you ask? Well … go. Knowing that it was well past midnight, she risked a peek out the door. Not seeing many people, she decided that looking male would be her best chance at privacy. A ship full of men would not follow another man to the john to watch.

She looked around the cabin for a hat or something, the best thing being a grey scarf. She wound up her long hair and tied the makeshift bandana around her head, allowing wisps to escape. Well … allowing manages to convey a bit of control on her part, which was not the case concerning her hair. The wisps escaped, whether she liked it or not.

The shirt was baggy enough on her that parts of the female anatomy were masked if one didn't look too closely. She padded barefoot to the deck and looked around in wonder. The sky was beautiful and the water even more so.

It didn't take her long to find the jardine and luckily, she'd brought something with which to wipe herself. (Just more gruesome pirate details. There was no paper provided. You brought your own if you knew anything.)

When she was finished, relieved that no one had come by, she decided to explore for a while instead of going back to bed. She couldn't sleep anyways.

If luck was on her side, which it wasn't at the moment, she would have been overlooked as just another man, but a pair of sharp eyes found her.

Anamaria spotted her because her bare feet were clean, not to mention mostly hidden. The baggy clothing was one thing but the lumpy scarf was another. Anamaria marched up angrily and whipped the scarf off.

"Who are you?" she snapped at Ryoko. "I have never seen you before."

"I was in the cave, remember," Ryoko answered. "Wait, you weren't there. I came on board earlier tonight."

"Ah yes," Anamaria snarled contemptuously. "You were naked."

"What?" Ryoko exclaimed. "I wasn't naked! I had everything that mattered covered, not to mention the knives."

"What are you wearing?" Anamaria continued. She picked up Ryoko's arm and unrolled a sleeve. Ryoko's arm disappeared within the cloth.

"Well, what did you expect me to do?" Ryoko asked, her anger growing as Anamaria prodded her. "Stay naked, as you so eloquently put it?" She yanked her arm and the scarf away from Anamaria and stormed back to the cabin.

"Bitch," Ryoko cursed. She closed the door behind her, throwing the lock into place. Moving quickly to the bed, she shook her hair out. "What did I ever do to her?"

"She's harsh on women who have somewhat questionable appearances," a voice answered from the darkness. Ryoko pulled a knife out as a light flared to life. Jack Sparrow stood in a corner of the room. His face twisted in a gold decorated smirk. "Nice outfit. The look suits you, though you need to lose a few buttons off the top." She gave him 'the look.' Ladies and a few men all know 'the look' and usually heed it, however, Jack seemed undaunted.

"Do you have anything smaller?" she asked him. "I can't go outside without a belt and your shirts go past my knees."

"Well," Jack answered, grinning evilly. "We could always ask Anamaria to borrow something."

"That's not going to happen," Ryoko answered, finally sheathing the knife. She pulled off the several straps of leather she'd placed all over her body and piled them on a table. Her stomach rumbled loudly and she cringed with the feeling.

"I'm hungry," Ryoko said perkily.

"You'll have to wait until morning for that one, luv. Galley's closed." he answered, going through cabinets and shaking bottles, holding them to his ear for some reason. "Until then," he picked a particular bottle and chose two glasses. "This should fill your appetite." He poured the liquid in the glasses and offered her one. She took it with a reluctant hand.

"What is it?" she asked, smelling it cautiously.

"Good," he answered bluntly, slamming it back in one gulp. He put down the glass rather roughly on the table and Ryoko stared. He smiled at her, not wavering any more than he usually did. He was testing her like he had Claudia.

"Well," Ryoko said shrugging. "If you can do that, I can certainly do it." She took a deep breath and swallowed the glassful of liquid. She hit the glass to the table and stared across at him. She smiled half-heartedly and said, "Excuse me." standing quickly, she ran to the door, threw open the lock and opened it. Jack smiled as he heard spitting sounds. She returned a few seconds later, wiping her mouth on her (or his, if you want technical) sleeve.

"What was that stuff?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"That was top of the line smuggled gin," he told her. "Not diluted in any way. Straight from the wheat. And you just drank a whole glass of it."

Ryoko stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Ick."

Jack selected another drink from the cabinet. She watched him down it again and took a tiny sip. Now this wasn't too bad. It was some kind of wine but she knew better than to chug it down.

Jack smiled slowly as he watched her take her small sips.

"Come now," he said with a grin. "Don't tell me after that spectacular gin encounter that you're afraid."

"Of course not," Ryoko answered. "What is this?"

"It's an expensive Italian wine,"

"How expensive?"

"Well, technically, I got it for free," he answered with a grin.

"I thought as much," she laughed, and drank the wine. This time, she swallowed and kept it down. She shook her head to clear her vision and slammed the glass down on the table.

Two hours later, she and Jack were laughing drunkenly at nothing at all and having an all out good time.

"You know," she told him. "This is the first time I've ever been drunk before! It's not legal where I come from. I'm too young."

He laughed. "Get used to it, luv. This is what we do in this line of work." The ship shifted slightly and Ryoko went falling from her chair. She giggled uncharacteristically and reached out for Jack. He pulled her up from the floor but being drunk himself, he lacked the balance required to stay upright.

Ryoko stood and staggered around the room, the sway of the ship not helping her performance. Still barefooted, she tripped again. Jack sniggered at her though his own performance wasn't much better.

"Don't laugh at me," she said, slurring the words together. "S'yer fault I'm drunk." She pulled herself up and sat on the bed. "Why's there two of you?"

Jack stood, considerably more steady than she was. He sat beside her. "There aren't two of me. Perhaps you've had enough."

She blinked. "I've had _too much_. What time is it?"

"Wish I knew," he answered. "Ships don't have clocks. The movement from the sea throws the mechanism off but I heard some well to do men down on the land are trying to make one work."

Ryoko swayed a bit, almost falling. Jack steadied her shoulders and she righted herself.

"I'm sure this is going to be much worse in the morning," she commented dully, resting her head on his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow, remembering his time stuck on the island with Elizabeth.

"Oh, yes," he answered. "First time on a pirate ship. Drinking, I mean," he added as an afterthought. He snaked his arm around her shoulder. She didn't move and he thought she might have fallen asleep.

But then she groaned and attempted to stand. He put a hand at the small of her back and aided her balance. She tottered to the head of the bed and flopped down on her stomach, her face hidden by one of the large pillows.

"I've seen men suffocate that way," he muttered in her direction. She turned slightly but that was the only inclination given that she'd heard him.

"Well then," he grunted as he stood. "I'll be bunking on the floor. Knowing my record with women such as yourself, I'll have a hand shaped red mark on me swarthy face, come dawn." He moved to take another of the pillows.

"You don't have to do that," she told him groggily, her eyes closed. "Just as long as you don't actually _do _anything, I won't slap you."

"Well, that's encouraging," he answered, letting go of the pillow. He moved to the other side, removed his boots, and blew out the lantern. He stretched out his legs and relaxed. She shifted to her back and stared at the ceiling.

"How did you bring us here from our time?" she asked. He winced, not knowing the full answer.

"I met this old woman in Tortuga," he began. "She was ... insane probably. Though I doubt her insanity now that this has happened. She said that to find my heir I needed to go back to Isla de Muerta."

"You have an heir?"

"That's just it," he answered a little bewildered. "If I did, I certainly didn't know about it. She told me that to find them, I needed to find the leader of the singing women."

"Claudia, right?"

"No, you," he corrected. "Your little feathered friend told me that if there had been a leader, the job description was more likely your cup of rum than hers. That's why we rescued you."

"Oh," she laughed, slightly offended. "No concern for my life, then."

"Don't take it personally," he assured her. "It could have been anyone I left there. I knew you'd do something to annoy Barbossa, anyway."

"What else did the old woman say?"

"Something about a ring with a skull on it, an enemy, that must have been Barbossa and the Lin clan," he paused when she raised her arm.

"A ring?" she asked, handing him something. He could just make out the face of a skull with gems for eyes.

"You may be on to something, luv," he told her. "Did you find this in the cave?"

"No," she answered. "I bought it at Disneyland about a year ago."

"Where?"

"Never mind," she told him. "It's from my time, though you'd be right at home in the ride."

"I'll take your word for it, since I've not any idea what you're talking about," he told her. He handed the ring back and she threaded the chain on her neck through it.

"Well," he told her. "I guess we know it's you I need and not your friend."

Ryoko didn't answer. Jack looked over and noticed she was staring up at the ceiling still.

"You know," he said, turning onto his side to face her. "I've been meaning to ask. When you fed Barbossa the bullets as we were taking you back to the cave, what gun did you use?"

"I grabbed it from Barbossa's belt," she answered. "I didn't really know what I was doing but it would have worked if he was human."

"Human?" Jack asked incredulously. "What do you mean?"

Ryoko turned to face him, her hair falling over her shoulder in a less than glamorous wave of burnt gold. "He isn't human anymore. Had you not wondered how he came back?"

"I was wonderin' more about how you shot him six times in such a short amount of time," Jack told her pointedly. "I believe our ol' boy Barbossa is smugglin' futuristic guns."

"How?"

"I assume through the same methods we used to bring you here, although, as I have pointed out, I'm not sure quite how that works."

"Okay, geez," Ryoko said. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"So what is Barbossa, if not human?" Jack asked.

"Have you ever heard of vampires?"

"Who hasn't? But they aren't real," he grunted, shaking his head, the beads clinking together.

"That's what I thought," Ryoko answered. Despite the liquor she was full of, she sounded quite normal. "That other creep must have found Barbossa and given him vamp blood. However, I read about them a lot and I've never heard of vampire blood reviving someone from death."

"Can't be," Jack answered, still shaking his head. "Vampires don't exist."

"And some people think _The Black Pearl _doesn't exist," Ryoko retorted. "Trust me, he's vamp now."

"Then why," Jack asked, narrowing his eyes. "Was Barbossa able to walk about in sunlight, eh? They're not supposed to be able to do that are they, now?" He smiled at her as if he'd made a point and she grimaced.

"His face was shaded by his hat and he was wearing gloves," she answered. "Other than that, he wasn't in the light. Only silver bullets can kill him, or wooden stakes, you know, all the crap you've seen in movies."

He gave her a blank look. "Movies?"

"Never mind," she answered. "Cutting his head off'll probably work too."

"Never liked doin' that," he said, wrinkling his nose. "Messy work. Blood everywhere; I prefer a shot to the brain."

"Yes," Ryoko agreed as if she had some basis for comparison. "Though it'd have to be silver shot."

"I know where I can get some," Jack answered. "But we'll have to travel a bit, if you don't mind."

She smiled. "You'd go even if I did mind."

He grinned back. "That, luv, depends primarily on how much I need you, savvy?"

She raised one brushstroke eyebrow in speculation. "You best be speaking of the prophecy and not somethin' else, Jack Sparrow."

He grinned even wider. "An' what would you say if that wasn't the only thing I be speakin' of, eh?" His eyes darkened.

Ryoko thought for a moment, trying to keep from laughing. "One thing's for sure, if you need me to clean the ship, I'm refusing right off." She knew that was probably not what he had in mind but decided not to entertain his idea of alternative needs for her. She wasn't quite ready to resign herself to this time period yet.

Deciding to ignore the look in his eyes, she changed the subject. "That still leaves the question of how the times could be breached."

Jack blinked, confused for a second. "And how would we be knowing that?"

"Think back," Ryoko told him. "What else did the old woman say?"

"Nothing more of importance," he answered, rather wanting to return to the previous section of conversation.

"What about blood undone?" she asked.

"How do you know about that?" he asked silkily.

"Didn't you hear the voice?" Ryoko asked. "When you brought us from the street, there was some voice said "_Blood Undone_!" Did she say that?"

Jack's eyes widened. "Come to think of it, she did say that! But what does it mean?"

Ryoko smiled as if she knew something. "I did say that I read about vampires did I not? In some cases of fiction, or nonfiction in our case, they are detached completely from humans, including their blood. For the change to be possible, the blood within them would have to change."

"Become undone," Jack whispered. "I understand. The blood creates a port, but why?"

"I don't think that answer will unearth itself yet," Ryoko answered, closing her eyes and massaging her temples. "I already have a headache."

"You should get some sleep," he told her. She opened her eyes and looked at him, rolling onto her side.

"What about you?" she asked. "You drank more than I did."

"Well, then I'd say it's very good that I'm a pirate, eh?" he answered, turning as well and looking at her darkly. "Your little body isn't equipped to deal with my kind of liquor. I didn't even break out the rum!"

"I could handle it," she told him. "I'm not yer average girl."

"Of that," he said, moving his hands to her waist, "I have no doubt."

She gave him a look but he didn't move. '_Oh, what the hell_,' she thought silently. Obviously, the liquor had a stronger affect on her inhibitions than she realized. She allowed herself to be pulled closer to him.

A small smile curved his lips as they drew near and Ryoko moved her hands up to his face. It was seconds before their mouths would have met that the liquor took over and Ryoko passed out, her head resting against his chest, the distance between them unbroken.

He smiled and sighed. "Now she passes out."

…

Elizabeth Talbott awoke at dawn to find a sailor sitting near her. Robin was asleep in the cot next to her and the sailor had been watching them both intently.

"Who are you?" Elizabeth asked him. He smiled at her, glad for her recovery.

"My name's David," he answered. "You're finally awake. We should be docking in Port Royal any time now."

"Docking?" she asked, sitting up quickly. This motion sent a wave of nausea shooting through her stomach. She lurched to the side and lost the grog she'd been given the night before.

David followed her and rubbed her back as she heaved up the last of the contents in her stomach. Robin had woken up by now and was sitting up in her cot, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

David helped Elizabeth walk back to the cot. "You should be fine once you're off the ship. You're lucky we didn't go through any real squalls, or you and many others would wish they were dead."

"I already wish I was dead," she moaned. "I think I lost my pancreas."

Robin giggled. "At least it wasn't your tummy. Think of how much better you'll feel when it settles."

"If I had lost my tummy, I wouldn't feel this bad right now," she cried, lying down on her stomach. Nick and Will picked that moment to enter the scene. Will looked embarrassed and Nick looked tired but annoyed.

"Why does everyone think I'm an elf?" Will asked Robin angrily. "I wear a rag over my hand because it protects me from callouses, not because I'm hiding a tattoo!"

David stood and left quickly. Will took his place and put a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder.

"Are you all right Miss Talbott?"

She groaned and turned to look up at him. "Are we there yet?"

He smiled his little boyish smile and nodded. "The port anchor's thrown. We'll be going to shore in a few minutes." He looked up suddenly at Nick who had sucked in a gulp of air. He rushed over to the side and ralphed all over the port edge. Nick's legs bent at the knees as he tried to calm his stomach.

He came back, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "I've been holding that back since I got on this damn boat." Robin laughed.

Will gave him a stern look. "You shouldn't speak so harshly in front of ladies, Nicholas."

Nick blushed but gave a cynical look at the same time. How he managed these two facial reactions simultaneously is beyond the author to comprehend.

Their trip to shore was utterly uneventful. Robin and Elizabeth were looking around in wonder at the scenery of Port Royal. Nick was staring around in a stoic's mask, not letting anything forth.

Robin moved her eyes from the mountain to Will's behind as he led them towards the estate. Governor Swann had paid for a large house to be built for his daughter and her husband when the two were married and now Will lived comfortably in the large house, making his own workshop just next door. He no longer had to kowtow to J. Brown.

Elizabeth Turner stood waiting at the door, her hair lovely in the light of dawn. Will's face lit up like the sun behind him when he saw her waiting. He ran the rest of the way and swung her around by the waist. She smiled gleefully and they kissed passionately, Robin and Nick groaning. (Elizabeth Talbott will from now on be known as Liz or Lizzy) Liz looked at them with shiny eyes, thinking back to the one she'd left in her world. '_I can't wait to get back_,' she thought.

Will and Elizabeth came over and Will gave introductions. "This is Miss Talbott, Miss Skiles, and Nicholas Maxwell."

"What," Nick said comically. "I don't get a title?" However, he was ignored as Will led them to the house. They were given a tour of the grounds.

"Miss Talbott and Skiles will be sleeping in this room," Estrella, a servant, pointed out. "And young Master Nicholas will be downstairs and to the right." Liz and Robin sat on their beds and looked at each other.

"This is fun, in a way," Robin said, knowing Lizzy was feeling down about it.

"Yeah," Liz agreed with a forlorn sigh. "But I want to go home."

"Already?" Robin asked incredulously. "I want to go too, sure but not yet! We haven't even been on _the Pearl _yet! I want to see Johnny Depp's gorgeous face again before I go."

"He's not Johnny Depp," Liz corrected. "He's Jack Sparrow."

"_Captain _Jack Sparrow," Robin corrected further. "Fine. I want to see Captain Jack Sparrow's gorgeous face."

"Gorgeous, really," an exasperated voice said. Elizabeth entered the room along with a beautiful African woman in a servant's smock. The new woman's hair was short and close to her scalp and her large black eyes seemed to be full of pooled light. She smiled broadly at the girls.

"This is Angelique," Elizabeth explained. "She is a very skilled seamstress. She is going to measure you and alter some dresses to fit you. She doesn't speak English so you might have a time of figuring out what she's trying to tell you." She turned to leave but stopped in the doorway. "And anyone that thinks Jack Sparrow is gorgeous has a thing or two to learn."

Elizabeth left them and Liz snorted. "Oh yeah? Well, you're a fish!"

Robin laughed and Angelique looked confused. "_Pardonez-moi_?"

"You speak French?" Liz exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something?"

"Liz, she can't understand you," Robin pointed out.

"Oh yeah," Liz switched into French and began to speak to the girl. Angelique was thoroughly surprised but she and Liz got along fine.

Around lunchtime, both Robin and Liz were fitted for clothing and Angelique was hard at work in a room down the hall. They were asked to dine with the Turners for lunch.

They had several courses of food, including dessert. Will was just asking Nick if he'd like to be an apprentice when raucous knocking could be heard at the door. Will rushed to the foyer, meeting the butler and an impatient foot soldier.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Murtogg," Will greeted. (Murtogg was the thinner soldier that met Jack on the restricted dock for those who wondered)

"Hello, Mr. Turner," he said, out of breath. "He's here!" His attempt at a whisper was thwarted by his lack of oxygen.

Will gave him a confused look at first and leaned forward to whisper. "Who's here?"

Murtogg looked almost murderous. "You know. Our … 'friend'."

Will's face lit up with worry. "Here? Why?"

"I don't know, Mr. Turner," Murtogg exclaimed. "But if you don't get down there, the Commodore's going to try and take him out."

"When did _the Pearl _get here?"

"Just minutes ago!"

"Thank you Murtogg," Will told him. "You're doing the right thing. Don't ever tell Norrington that you've aided us."

Will told the butler to tell Elizabeth that he was going to meet their "friend" and that he would be back, maybe with company. The butler nodded and calmly went to relay the message.

Will, in the meantime, ran swiftly to his workshop and found a brilliant orange flag he'd had made just for such an occasion as this. He then hopped upon his horse and had one of the stable hands attach a line to another one. Will rode off, trailing the second horse behind him, the flag rolled up and stashed in his belt.

The truth of it was this. Will had known Jack had meant well but Norrington just wouldn't hear it, bitter ass. Murtogg and his buddy Mullroy agreed that Jack was an okay guy and had also agreed to help him. Murtogg would alert Will when _The Black Pearl _was spotted on the bay and Will would rush to a rendezvous point away from _the Pearl_. The idea was that Jack would see the flag and head that way in a rowboat, or he would swim. _The Black Pearl _would sail safely away and hide in one of the cays behind Port Royal. The extra horse was for Jack.

Will got into position and unfurled the flag. He began to wave his beacon and waited for the pirate to come.

…

Ryoko was dreaming about food. Nice, juicy, rotisserie chickens! *drool* She was sooo hungry and her mind wasn't letting her forget it.

Jack was standing above her, trying to figure out how to wake her up. He had poked her several times in the side but she hadn't regained consciousness yet. He shook her shoulder but she murmured and turned over. He sighed and left, returning several minutes later with a pail of water.

"I'm going to count to three," he warned. "And if you're not awake by then, well, you'll see." She didn't budge.

"One," he counted. No movement.

"Two," a groan, signs of life.

"Three!" He grinned. She only turned slightly, exposing her face. She was still asleep. He let fly with the bucket, dousing her in cold water. She sat up at once, crying out.

"_Nani sunde_!" she cried. He looked at her in confusion and she glared at him menacingly. Throwing the sheets off her legs, she stood and started after him. He smirked and ran out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Bloody pirate," she cursed. She dug through the drawers again until she found more clothes. The pants weren't wet but the shirt was soaked through. She peeled it off and had begun to replace it when the door creaked open and Jack peeked back in. She stood there in the pants and her bra and sent him a glare, reaching for something. He didn't have enough time to make any comments as a knife flew through the air and embedded itself in the doorjamb. He shut the door quickly.

"Pervert," Ryoko muttered, slipping the shirt on and rolling up the sleeves. She added a faded black vest and cinched it all at her waist with the red scarf she'd used last time. She had used a separate scarf to hold up her pants.

Jack returned a few minutes later, carefully opening the door. He glanced around and made sure she wasn't going to kill him before entering.

"You wouldn't happen to have a brush, would you?" she asked.

"Who me?" he asked pointing aloft to his mess of hair. "You're askin' the wrong man, luv."

"Damn," she said, raking a hand through her golden brown hair. "This is horrible! It's worse than usual. And my head hurts."

"Not like anyone on this ship cares 'bout the hair," he answered. "You can fix it once we get into Port Royal. The headache, well, that'll pass."

"Port Royal?" Ryoko asked massaging her temples.

"Yes'm," he answered somewhat silly for it. "We're a few miles out from it."

"We're going into port? Isn't Norrington after you?"

"Relax a bit," he told her. "We're not going into port. We're meeting a friend on shore."

"Rowboat?"

"Sorry," he told her. "I used the boat last time and they almost got me. We're swimmin' to rendezvous."

"Swimming? How far?"

He laughed. "Not very far. It's easier to sneak in."

"A whole crew swimming in is not very inconspicuous."

"Whole crew?" he asked. "Who said anything about that? It's just you an' me. Your two mates'll be sent to Will's later once they secure _the_ _Pearl_."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think I'm up to swimming," she made a nervous little face.

"Too bad, you're swimmin'," he answered, slipping on his boots. She laced up her own. He tossed another scarf at her. "Tie back your hair. It'll get in the way once in the water. No, no, not like that. Like this, savvy? Good, there you go."

"This is embarrassing," she muttered. "I'm getting hair tips from a pirate who looks like he has things growing . . . in _his_ hair."

"I heard that," he told her grinning. He stepped outside and she followed him. Gibbs nodded and handed him something. Jack smiled and nodded back.

"What was that all about?" Ryoko asked as Jack headed towards the stern.

"Just letting him know he's to go behind Port Royal into the cay," Jack answered. "We discussed it last night. He knows what to do." They looked down into the shining water. She could almost see the bottom, a whirling mass of white sand broken intermittently by flowing green plants and barnacle encrusted rocks.

"Ready?" he asked. She swallowed and nodded. He dove over, going cleanly beneath the surface, hardly a splash to mark his entrance.

She took a deep breath and followed suit, almost crying out when she slammed headfirst into the strangely warm water. She followed Jack's wake and he waited for her to catch up.

"Very graceful," she told him. "You could be in the Olympics."

They swam in silence and eventually reached the shore. They hid beneath one of the many little bridges around Port Royal and Jack pointed out the orange marker. He motioned for her to follow him and they began to climb the slope towards Will's mark.

Jack emerged from the bushes in front of Will, and seconds behind him, came Ryoko. Will looked startled to see her as well but pointed to the horse. Jack helped Ryoko onto the horse and climbed up behind her.

"I hope you know what you're doing, luv," he whispered in her ear. "'Cause I can't ride a horse to save me life."

Ryoko grimaced but lightened up. "Hey, my headache's gone!"

"Told you that little swim would help," he answered. He toed the horse to get it moving and they both hoped that it knew its way home.

Will rode off quickly, not realizing that they weren't following.

"Do something!" Jack prodded her.

"I haven't ridden a horse in at least three years," she answered. "And even then, I was being led around by a handler!"

"Well, that's more'n I know," he pointed out.

She took the reigns and did what she'd seen in countless western movies. She snapped them slightly and the horse glanced back at her and broke wind. She growled and repeated the action with a heel kick as well. The horse snorted and took off at a canter. She moved with the horse like she'd been taught but Jack bounced around, nearly falling off.

"You've gotta hang on," she told him when he'd shouted in fear for the fifth time.

"Hang on to what?"

"My waist, my shoulders, pick something," she shouted.

"Anything?" he asked loudly.

"You know what I mean," she shouted back. His hands immediately went to her waist. She was losing control of the horse but they were getting close anyways.

"Move with the horse, nitwit!" she shouted. "Or you'll pull us both off!"

"Nitwit, eh?" he said, trying to do as she said. "I should have left you to Barbossa."

They reached the stables and Will reached out for the reigns, calming the horse down. Jack pushed himself off backwards and landed with a thud on his butt. The horse snorted again and moved away from the grounded pirate. Will helped Ryoko down and they both helped Jack.

He walked funny for a bit but once his legs regained their original position, he was fine. Will led them up towards the house.

"Remove your shoes please," he asked, slightly losing his polite air. "You're still all wet."

Meanwhile, inside, they had been spotted. Robin pointed out the window, her eyes very large. Liz's eyes followed.

"Is that him?" Robin whispered.

"Yeah," Liz answered. "But who's that with him?"

"I don't know, maybe one of his pirates," Robin thought aloud. They could only see the back of their visitors and the newcomer looked like (from behind) a lighter, shorter version of Jack. The unknown person was dressed almost identically to Jack, with a few missing accessories. Robin and Liz both scooted their chairs out to go examine the visitors but Elizabeth motioned for them to stay seated.

"Will shall bring our visitors in soon enough," she answered. "A lady must be patient." Slightly annoyed, they sat down again, not wanting any conflict with their hostess.

"Will," a deeper voice said in an annoyed way. "I believe that I told you I couldn't ride a horse last time I came here."

"It worked out all right, didn't it? You didn't fall off this time," Will answered, laughing a little.

"Yes, but you didn't know that, did you? You were miles ahead of us. If it hadn't been for my little friend here, I _would _have fallen."

They rounded the corner and came into the dining room. Elizabeth gave Jack a steely glance but Robin and Liz were staring with open mouths and wider eyes. Now that the initial fright of the time change had left them, they were free to drool. They didn't even glance at the smaller pirate.

Speaking of which, this said smaller pirate covered Liz's eyes from behind.

"Who? Robin, is that you?" Liz turned her head from side to side trying to shake the person behind her. Once they let go, she spun around and almost fell down in shock

"Ryoko?" she squeaked.

"Who'd you think it was?" she asked, but all the air was squeezed from her body when Liz hugged her. "Ahh! You're killing me!"

"What are you wearing?" Robin asked. "You look … like him!"

"Long story, can't tell it now," Ryoko pried Liz's arms off her and stepped carefully away.

"Where are the others?" Robin asked. Ryoko looked at Jack.

"They'll be along later," he answered. "We had to hide _the Pearl _before anyone else could get off."

"Why are you here?" Elizabeth asked, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

He gave her a dark look and smiled a little. "Well, darlin'. I heard you had a little dream, eh?" Elizabeth clutched a napkin to her chest and glanced at Will. He shrugged.

Jack strutted around the dining room in his bare feet, picking fruit out of a bowl. Ryoko sat down where Will indicated, tripping over the hems of the pants again and almost falling. She caught the edge of the table and pushed herself up. Once she was seated, she bent and rolled the cuffs up to show delicate feet in her modern socks.

"Would you like me to have Angelique fit a dress for you?" Elizabeth asked. She looked at Ryoko's sleeves, which were also rolled up.

"That would be helpful," Ryoko answered, sitting up. "But does it have to be a dress?"

Elizabeth looked appalled. "What else would you wear?"

"Well," Ryoko answered, looking down at herself. "Pants, for instance."

"Why would you want to wear pants?" she asked incredulously.

"They're easier to move in, and I can do things I can't do in a dress," she answered.

Wrinkling her nose, Elizabeth looked back to her food.

Jack had been leaning in a corner of the room eating a banana, listening to their argument. He had a slightly amused look on his dark face. "I think one would want something comfortable, wouldn't you say, Elizabeth? I would say that offering a corset and pinching shoes to someone in comfortable clothing would be like offering greens to a child."

Elizabeth ignored him but the three girls smiled. She saw this and decided to add her bit. "Well, I think any woman who'd want to look like you must be daft."

"Excuse me?" Ryoko said incredulously.

"Daft like me, eh?" Jack laughed.

"The only reason I'm dressed like this is because my clothing was destroyed by Barbossa's crew!" Ryoko told Elizabeth angrily.

"Barbossa?" she asked. "So he is alive! I was right!" She looked at Will. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He looked sheepish and Robin looked like she was about to pinch his cheek for all his cuteness. "You didn't ask. I didn't want to worry you … and I've only just been back."

She looked angry for a moment but smiled at him. He looked relieved. Jack grinned like he was laughing at some inner joke.

"Well," he said, pushing himself away from the wall and tossing the banana peel out the window. "Where will I be staying?"

"In the barn," Elizabeth answered. "And you can take your crew member here with you, as well as any other pirate that comes here."

"First of all," Ryoko started. "I don't know what bug is up your ass but I am not one of his crew. Second, what do you have against him or me for that matter, and third, there are tarantulas in barns! I hate tarantulas!" Liz squeaked as well and Jack's eyes moved side to side, checking to see if anyone noticed his tight grip on the fruit.

Elizabeth looked up haughtily and was surprised when Ryoko stuck out her hand. "Let's start over. I'm Ryoko." Elizabeth took her hand gently and Ryoko shook it.

"Great, I'll get Angelique," Elizabeth stood and hurried off.

"Maybe she misunderstood me," Ryoko said as an afterthought.

"I'd say so," Jack told her. "She thinks you're giving in."

…

An hour later, Liz and Robin were in beautiful dresses and Angelique was measuring away at Ryoko. She was clucking away in French and Ryoko, though not too bad at the language, was having a hard time keeping up.

"What'd she say?" she asked Liz. "Something about my body?"

"She said you shouldn't be dressing like a boy. It's not flattering for your figure," Liz translated, sitting on the bed.

"Like I had a choice?" Ryoko answered. "Anamaria would've eaten me if I'd asked her for clothes."

Claudia and Diana arrived, being led up to the room where Ryoko was being fitted. Claudia waved and Diana stopped dead.

"You are dressed like a pirate!" she exclaimed. "I thought Claudia was kidding when she said that."

"Not for long," Ryoko answered. "Mrs. Turner on her high horse wants all the ladies in dresses so I'm here getting measured. They're taking some of Angelique's works of art and altering them to fit us."

"Mine didn't even have to be altered," Elizabeth said sweetly. Her dress was a pale blue, Robin's being lavender. Two more women came in and began measuring Diana and Claudia.

"I've never seen so many thin women," one of the seamstress' commented. "This one hardly needs a corset."

"We're not wearing corsets," Ryoko muttered. "Or at least, I'm not."

"You don't really need one, dear," one of the women said. "Well, at least not terribly."

"That's okay," Ryoko answered. "I'm not going to wear the damn dress anyways."

"You speak like a sailor, luv," a voice pointed out. Jack Sparrow was in the doorway.

Diana squealed and covered herself. Claudia stepped out of his sight and shouted, "Hey! You're not supposed to be in here!" Ryoko glared at him.

"Well if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black," she retorted to his comment. "Get out. We don't need an audience."

"Why so coy?" he asked frowning. "It's not like I haven't seen your wares."

Ryoko's face turned red as everyone but Claudia looked at her. She strode to the door, pushed the grinning Jack away from the doorjamb, and shut the door in his face. She turned back to the room, frowning. "It's definitely not what you think."

…

Barbossa sat in his quarters, tossing an apple up and down, manipulating it and wishing he could eat it. He'd tried the day before, loving the crunching the green fruit had made against his teeth. The juices had hit his tongue and he had relished for a moment.

Then he'd tried to swallow it. The chunk of apple slid partway down his gullet, but was forced back up by something. He tried a few more times but to no avail. In anger, he threw the apple, making a hole in the deck. He was surprised at his strength but still hungry. He asked one of the sailors into his cabin and bit him, draining the poor whelp of his vital liquids.

He dropped the body and smiled. "Now I really am black hearted." A knock on the cabin door made him flinch. He dragged the body to a corner, pulled the spread from the bunk, and shrouded the lifeless lump. He stood to the side of the door so as not to be hit with the light.

"Yeah, who is it?" he shouted.

"Is Mei Lin!" a high-pitched voice shouted.

He opened the door and she walked in, looking around at the dark room, her darker eyes widening as she glanced at the sheet in the corner. He saw the glance but hid his knowledge.

"We have to catch Sparrow," she told him, waving her hands and stomping her foot like a child with a temper tantrum.

"And we will, my dear," he told her reassuringly. "But we don't know where they be, remember? Until we find their location, we can't do a thing."

"They go to port," she answered. "Mei Lin know it."

"Do you know anything about the ocean?" he asked incredulously. "There are hundreds of ports in the direction he set off, and that's only assuming he didn't _change _direction."

"He go to port," she repeated, smiling.

"Damn Chinese, don't you understand English? We can't find him! I'm headin, down to Tortuga. He has connections there."

"Mei Lin go to port," she answered simply and turned to leave. She stopped a few feet from the door and looked back. "Why you have sleeping boy in corner?'

Barbossa glanced at the lumpy sheet. "He's just drunk."

She nodded, probably not understanding, and left, shutting the door loudly behind her. He sighed and looked at the ceiling. "You've done it now."

…

"How pretty!"

"It fits so well!"

"_Belle! Magnifique_!"

"It's pink," Ryoko pointed out flatly.

"But it's so pretty!" Diana told her.

"Let's make her up!"

"No!"

…

An hour later, Ryoko had her hair done up in some style she lacked a name for and her face had been painted to perfection. The others had gone through similar changes but none felt as silly as Ryoko. '_Pink_,' she thought to herself. '_What did I ever do_?'

They all sat in the dining room for dinner, even Jack, much to Elizabeth's disgruntlement, no matter that he was extremely tardy. Will sat at the head of the table with Elizabeth at his right. Nick came in and sat on his left, Claudia next to him, Diana across from her. Robin and Ryoko sat at the ends of the table, Lizzy in between Robin and Diana so they wouldn't fight. Jack had been placed at the foot of the table. It was as far enough away from Elizabeth as he could get and not be eating on the floor, assuming he would arrive any time soon.

Ryoko sat uncomfortably in the dress and reached for the food. One of the cooks smacked her hand and shooed her away. Claudia, having been about to do the same, pulled back her hand.

"You're not supposed to eat until everyone's at the table," Robin whispered across the entrée.

"Well," Liz asked. "Who are we missing?"

"Jack," Robin pointed out. "How could you miss that?"

"Oh."

He came in a few minutes later, not so much sauntering as sashaying into the room. His eyes lighted on the girls and a grin curved his face. He took his seat and looked around animatedly.

"Good, let's eat," Ryoko exclaimed. She reached again but the look on Elizabeth's face made her stop. Jack snickered and she sent him a glare.

"If it hadn't been for that little action there, I would hardly have recognized you," he said to Ryoko. She frowned but chose to ignore him.

Elizabeth chose that moment to pipe up. "I told you a dress would be much better than trousers."

"No," Jack answered with a laugh. "You said a dress would be much better than pants, luv. Plus, I think that color is a little off the top."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at Jack as a cook carved the meat and delved out pieces. "Remember under whose roof you reside tonight."

"Oh, I will," he answered. "I'm in the barn, remember."

Will, looking extremely uncomfortable, cleared his throat. Attention shifted to him.

"I thought we'd let Jack sleep in the servants' quarters," he said timidly. "It seems kind of harsh to make him stay in the barn."

"What with tarantulas, and all," Jack added, glancing at Ryoko.

Elizabeth just stared at Will until he dropped his gaze and continued eating his food.

"Boy," Jack said to him, his grin wavering a little. "You've no spine at all when it comes to women."

They finished eating amongst remarks from the girls. Ryoko filled her stomach finally as did the others who'd been sick on the ships.

The cook had just wheeled out dessert when Nick asked the question. "Will?"

Will looked up. "Yes, Nicholas?"

"Can you teach me how to sword fight?"

Will smiled, the light in his eyes becoming brighter. "I'd love to."

"Hey!" Claudia interjected. "Me too!"

"All right, all right, I'll teach everyone," Will said, still smiling.

"That'll never do, mate," Jack told him. "How 'bout I teach half of them, and we have a little tourney to see who's the greater swordsman."

Will looked surprised but nodded in agreement. "I get Nicholas, though."

"Oh, that's all fine by me," Jack answered. "I get these three ladies right here," he indicated to Robin, Liz, and Ryoko. Robin took up her fan and started rapidly fanning her face.

Will smiled and nodded again. "You shant beat me."

Jack cocked his head to the side, boring straight at Will with his dark eyes. "We'll see."

…

Mei Lin sat in her late brother's cabin sipping jasmine tea from a cup. She burned incense in her shrine and prayed for her brother's soul. She hadn't thought much of her brother. He'd been an idiot in life and she only hoped he wouldn't be an idiot in death. She removed the chopsticks from her hair and shook out her volumes of shiny black hair. She looked in the mirror and gazed into her own eyes.

"Jack stupid," she said in English. She then switched into Chinese, but since the author doesn't speak but two phrases in Chinese, our translators will have this in English.

"_He has shamed my family and escaped again_," she said to herself, her Chinese much more complete than her English. "_I will catch you, Jack Sparrow_."

…

Well, what do you think? Give me your reviews! I need them like the air I breathe! Don't make me threaten to stop writing.

Mungojerry; Maybe no'un loiks ya story.

Jack; Boy, you're helpful

Mungojerry *smiles* just bein' me

Jack; Well, don't be you.

Mungojerry; wan' me ta be Berbossa?

Jack; NO!

Yeah, so, review, and stay tuned. We'll be back with chapter four soon.

Revised on 10-23-06


	5. Chapter IV : Swords and Spiders

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile but the CATS fans were eating me because I'd done three pirates chapters in a row and hadn't even started the twelfth for CATS. Either way, both fics are (I think) interesting. And one little thought. REVIEW! PLEASE! IT IS THE AIR I BREATH, THE FOOD I DEVOUR, THE SAKE I DRINK! I CRAVE YOUR INPUT!

Mungojerry; Am Oi the on'y 'un oo t'inks she's insane?

Jack; I believe you belong in the other fic, Jerry.

Mungojerry; Yeh, but Oi couldn't resist buggin' ya.

Jack; *sigh* Go bug Teazer or Tugger or something.

Mungojerry; Naa. 'At's no fun.

Jack; Grrrrr.

**Chapter IV – From Swords and Spiders to a Place in the Pen **

Lizzy lay awake in her small bed. She was staring at the ceiling, wishing she were back home. It wasn't that she was afraid. She just missed her boyfriend. It was quite an understandable predicament. How could she have fun knowing there was a chance she'd never see him again?

Robin was lying on her side, sleeping peacefully. Occasionally she'd let forth a snort but other than that, she made no noise.

Claudia and Diana were asleep down the hall in another room and Ryoko was on the upper floor.

Lizzy knew she wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon so she stood up and wrapped herself in a long dressing chemise 'to protect her from the cold sea air' she'd been told. She moved quietly to the window and opened the jalousied shutters. Port Royal was beautiful at night and the air felt so refreshing against her skin.

She sighed and closed her eyes, breathing in the salty air and trying to imagine being in Hawaii or some other place like that. She heard a faint shaking of wood against wood and opened her eyes. She would have screamed had it not been for the rough hand that clamped powerfully over her mouth. The intruder hopped into the room and closed the shutters. Lizzy began beating against him but he grasped her wrists. "It's me! I haven't even known you for long and already you're trying to kill me."

"Jack?"

"Who else?"

"Why are you here?" she asked him.

"We're getting a head start on training," he explained. "Where are Robin and that crazy one?"

"I'm right here," Robin answered, tossing the covers off. She wore a long dressing gown but she quickly slipped on jeans underneath. "Ryoko's upstairs."

Jack grimaced. He was dressed as usual and was carrying a bag. "Try to keep quiet. We need to get her out of here as well."

He moved towards the door and looked back. "You might want to get dressed in your old clothes. Dresses are not easy to fight in."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Robin cracked.

Jack smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He vanished behind the door and they could hear his faint footsteps leaving the room.

Jack tiptoed up the stairs, staying to the sides of the staircase so as not to put pressure on the center. He didn't want creaking steps to give him away. Reaching the third floor, he crab-walked carefully, keeping the doors all in sight in case one opened suddenly. As he was creeping around, Lizzy and Robin showed up behind him. They pointed to the door and he pushed it open, careful to avoid noise. The room was dominated by a large bed, the jalousied windows thrown open, making the lacy white curtains billow in the gentle breeze blowing off the water. Lizzy closed the door behind her once they were all in the room.

"Is she dead?" Robin asked.

Ryoko was face down on the bed, a pair of breeches she'd borrowed from a bewildered Will covering her legs. She wore her hair down and it was thrown over her shoulder, leaving her back open. She wore only her bra but that itself was not very surprising. Robin had complained of the weather being hot and had almost done the same but hadn't because of modest reasons. Ryoko must have felt that she could do what she wanted in her own room.

"Wake her up," Robin prodded Lizzy.

"You wake her up!" she whispered back frantically, rubbing her bare arms and shivering. She was more particular to temperature and the room felt cold to her. "She hates it when someone wakes her up. She sleeps through her alarm!"

They both looked at Jack. He backed away hesitantly. "You're dumping this on me, then?"

They nodded. He grinned and shook his head. "She's your friend, mates. It's not my place to be wakin' her. I had to do that this mornin'."

"Yes," Robin agreed. "But you're strong enough to stop her if she goes on a rampage after being woken up."

He shook his head. "You girls really are somethin'. Not every day that a few words can scare a grown man. I'm terrified." Contrast to his words, he moved to the side of the large bed and poked the 'dead' girl. She didn't move and she didn't even seem to breathe.

"How does one go about this waking, anyway?" he asked. "I'm short of large water buckets at the moment." They shrugged.

"Try tickling her," Robin suggested.

"That won't work," Lizzy answered. "I've tried before."

"Oh! Looky, 'ere!" he exclaimed. He dropped to his knee and pulled something from between the mattresses. It was a knife.

"Her hand's dangling by it," he pointed out. "Incase she's woken by the likes of me, I assume." He grabbed the arm that was hanging off the edge and used it to turn her over. She flopped lifelessly and continued to sleep, one arm draped over her stomach.

"Sure looks innocent now," he observed. "But she's anything but once she's awake."

"Yeah," Robin agreed. "That sounds about right."

Jack took out his pistol and lowered the barrel.

"What are you doing?" Lizzy whispered harshly. "You'll wake the house!"

"Relax, luv," he told her. He placed the cold pistol on her bare stomach and she snapped awake, flying at him before she even saw who he was. The result ended with her pressed against the wall, staring at him. He had spun her around and had the knife to her throat.

"What is it with you future women?" he asked. "Always attacking the honest pirate."

"If that isn't an oxymoron, I don't know what is," Ryoko answered bluntly.

He smiled. "Now that's what I call dry humor. Get dressed. We're beginning your training."

She smiled back sarcastically. "You've forgotten something. I don't have clothes. Elizabeth tossed out the stuff I borrowed, including my boots. Those cost like eighty dollars, you know. Not exactly replaceable material. I'm not one to fuss over shoes but I liked those boots."

Jack grinned and let her away from the wall. He held up the bag. "I figured she'd do something like that."

…

They kicked Jack out of the room but soon realized he could be discovered out there in the hallway. They decided to bring him back in and locked him in the closet.

Ryoko untied the scarf around her waist and slid out of the breeches. She pulled on long socks that were found in the bag and a pair of baggy pants that were still too big for her. Again, the shirtsleeves had to be rolled up and the vest and pants tied at the waist but at least she wasn't wearing the pink atrocity.

Jack had even included boots. They almost fit her, being just a tad too big. These came up almost to her knee, folding over about halfway to her ankle, and lacing up the side. Her calves were firm enough that the boots would fit and not slip. They must have belonged to a woman. She'd tried on Jack's boots the night he rescued her and had actually stepped out of them without any effort. She allowed Robin to braid her hair and Elizabeth tied the scarf around her head.

"Only on you," Robin commented. "I could never dress like that. How does it feel to be that outgoing?"

"Comfortable," Ryoko cracked. She opened the closet and Jack tumbled out. He'd been on his hands and knees, attempting to look under the door.

"If you were anyone else, I would have slapped you," she told him, pulling him to his feet.

"Why me?" he asked. "Not that I'm complaining, but who would exempt a pirate in that way?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," using a condescending tone with him. "There are things you don't understand, being in the time you are. No one in their right mind would slap Johnny Depp."

"He's not Johnny Depp," Lizzy pointed out.

"Who's that?" Jack asked.

"Never mind," Robin told him. They returned to the second floor room without any confrontation.

He looked out the window and pointed. "We're goin' down the trellis."

"No way!" Robin hissed. "I hate heights! I can't climb down there!"

"That's all right," Jack assured her. "I'll go down before you and Ryoko'll go down above you. If you fall, one of us will help you. Elizabeth; You go down last. Don't forget to shut the window."

He stepped out the window and literally disappeared. The girls looked over the brink and saw him about four feet down. Robin precariously swung over the sill and began to lower herself. Ryoko gripped her wrists and helped her get down to Jack, who then placed her feet in the grips of the trellis wall. Ryoko balanced herself and pushed off the sill, swinging her feet carefully. Once the soles of her boots made contact with the white wood, she turned around to help Lizzy. Ryoko descended rapidly, a creaking sound accompanying her as Lizzy put her full weight on the trellis.

Three things happened either in rapid succession or simultaneously. First, Lizzy let go of the windowsill, allowing for her 110 (or close to) lb body to be supported by the trellis. Two, Ryoko, unable to reach the next rung by herself, dropped her weight to it instead of stretching. And third, Jack Sparrow, having reached the ground already, pulled Robin from the trellis, causing her to panic and grip the wood. As he pulled her, Ryoko and Lizzy's actions were added to the mix and the trellis separated from the wall of the beautiful house with an ear-shattering crash, showering them with painted splinters and thorny roses.

Ryoko shook herself free of the debris and stretched her back. Her hair had come out of the braid without much persuasion and was loose over her shoulders. Lizzy was under the window, uninjured but shaken. Jack and Robin were farther away from the house, hidden under a tree hung with moss. Ryoko was sitting in a nest of roses and splintered wood.

Elizabeth and Will's heads poked out of a third story window. Ryoko was the only one visible and she cringed. '_Great_,' she thought. '_I'll end up in the barn with Jack now_.'

"Jack!" Will cursed.

"Jack Sparrow!" Elizabeth cried. "What are you doing on my trellis?"

Ryoko looked confused. She was sure they couldn't see Jack under the tree and from their distance, she couldn't tell if they were looking that way or not. Come to think of it, she couldn't see their faces all that well.

"Get up, Jack," Will shouted in an exasperated voice. "You'll be helping me fix the trellis tomorrow."

Jack was standing under the tree. Could they not see it? She looked over at him and he pointed from her to him and motioned wildly. She gave him a confused look and he pointed up at the windows, at his head, then frantically back and forth again. It suddenly clicked. Ryoko couldn't discern their features from the distance between, they obviously couldn't see her face either, and given her clothing, they thought she was Jack. She stood and brushed the debris off her arms. Jack snapped to catch her attention. She still had an audience hanging out the third story window.

She watched him and he mouthed the phrase "Act like me!" (Might have been, "can't find mead" given his drinking habits, but she didn't think those words were appropriate.) Nodding slightly, she began to cautiously teeter as she brushed the wood chips off her sleeves. She grinned as she thought, '_Well, at least seeing the movie eight times paid off_.' She waved drunkenly up at the window, careful to keep her face in shadow as she stepped over the remaining debris and sashayed to the tree line where she stopped acting like a drunken pirate and began trying to catch glimpses of the windows. It wasn't safe for Lizzy to move and while Ryoko had been putting on a show for the Turners, Jack had motioned for Lizzy to stay put.

As soon as the shutters were heard snapping shut, Jack motioned again. Lizzy came running from under the house to join them in the shade of the tree.

"That was . . . an interesting performance," Jack commented once they were far enough away from the house. "Did you have to trip over the trellis?"

"Excuse me?" Ryoko snarled. "Have you not noticed how short I am? Plus, I wasn't exactly flattered to be mistaken for a man, even one such as you."

"I happen to think you made a great man!" Jack answered, trying to lighten the mood. He, unfortunately, didn't realize that this was not what Ryoko would see as a peace offering.

Lizzy slapped her head. "Idiot." Robin just shook her head. Ryoko halted and the others stopped with her.

"A great man, huh?" she whispered slowly. "I don't think you know who you're dealing with, Sparrow." As often as the sun has risen, men have underestimated or misinterpreted a woman's capabilities or words. And almost as often, they say things that in any other circumstance might be well taken but are not so generously accepted in their chosen situations. This was most definitely one of those times.

Even though she wasn't someone that had an intimidating appearance, her slow words and her frighteningly serious eyes combined with the moonlight gave Jack the shivers, though he wasn't prone to show it.

Lizzy and Robin backed up slowly so as not to attract her attention. Jack must have realized that something had gone wrong for his right hand rested on the hilt of his cutlass.

"Jack," Robin prodded carefully. "I don't think she appreciated you thinking of her as a man."

"Well, she's obviously not a man," Jack blurted. "You know, with the …" he made an hourglass curving motion with his hands. "That … stuff."

"So kind of you to notice," Ryoko snapped. He looked injured but still his confident self.

"I don't think he meant anything by it, Ryoko," Lizzy told her friend.

"Yes!" Jack agreed, but then he shook his hands. "I mean yes, I didn't mean anything by it. She's absolutely right. I shouldn't have said that." Ryoko continue to glare at him.

"I think that's as close to an apology as you're going to get," Robin pointed out. Ryoko didn't reply but turned on her heel and marched silently toward the barn. Robin and Lizzy followed, preceding a shrugging Jack.

…

"The first thing you need to be capable of," he told them as he threw open the wide barn door. "Is finding your opponent."

"Well, that should be easy," Lizzy answered, peering into the darkness.

"Wrong," Jack told her. "Dear William and I had a little chat about our upcoming … tourney. At least one of your matches will be at night, and you need to be able to find your enemy in the dark." He lit a lantern and shut the tiny glass door, hanging the light on the wall. He closed the barn door and sat down on a crude wooden bench. Robin sat beside him and Lizzy found a place on an upturned bucket. Ryoko was near a stall that held a spotted cow. She watched the animal chew and swallowed.

"You're talking to dinner, you know," Robin told her.

"Actually," Ryoko corrected. "This is probably a dairy cow. In our time, spotted cows are used for milk and solid cows are used for . . . hamburger."

"Germans?" Jack asked. "I've been to Germany or the pieces of it really. Not really a whole place, though they call themselves Germans. Actually, they call themselves Deutchs."

"No!" Ryoko cried. "Hamburger is meat! Beef!"

Jack looked at her in horror. "You eat Hamburgers in your time? How barbaric! Excuse me for saying so, but next time you crack about my profession I won't have it."

"Now it sounds like you're a whore," Lizzy giggled. "Profession! I'm trying to imagine you in fishnets and feathers!"

"Garters," Robin added. "Don't forget garters."

"And corsets," Ryoko added with a smirk to rival Jack's.

Jack thought for a moment. "You are three out of four items correct."

They all just looked at each other for a moment, trying to discern the legitimacy of such a statement.

"Fishnets," he explained. "I live on a ship. We have netting aboard. Feathers," he slid his fingers down a small white feather braided into his hair.

"Are you telling me you wear garters?" Ryoko asked.

"Or worse, corsets?" Lizzy added, her eyes wide.

"I would think him in a corset _and _garters would be better," Ryoko smirked. "Sweet transvestites and all that."

Jack grinned. "Ryoko; take off your boots."

"Um . . . what?"

"Trust me, just do it."

"Trust you. Right." Despite her sarcasm, she shrugged and slid her right foot out of the boot. Her sock was scrunched down around her ankle and she went to straighten it but Jack stopped her hand.

She ignored him and pulled the sock up, sliding the boot back on. He smiled and slid his own off. The sock was neatly pulled up, disappearing seamlessly under the cuff of his pants, which ended about three inches past his knees (which for Ryoko meant an inch and a half past her heel).

"I get it!" Lizzy exclaimed. "You wear garters to keep the socks up." He nodded and put the boot back on.

"That was unnecessary," Ryoko added once he was done. "You could've just told us that."

He gave her a dark look. "You should try to keep the stockings up luv. It would be hard to walk if the boots chaffed your legs up."

She scowled at him. "Not like I couldn't stand a little pain. If it bothers me, I'll fix it."

He curtsied sloppily. "Your funeral."

Ryoko considered him. "When you said that to Barbossa, he almost wiped out Norrington and his men. Will they really cut my legs up?"

He nodded. "They will. I've got scars and by the way, how do you know about Barbossa and me? That you seem to be able to quote words I said a long while ago seems quite suspicious, if you'll forgive me for saying so."

Ryoko gave a brilliant grin. "Barbossa likes to share his memories with his captives." It was easier to lie than to explain about the movie.

"Ah, yes," Jack nodded as if he understood, though he couldn't since she was lying. He stood and grunted as his foot hit the bucket that Lizzy was sitting on. "Well, time for lesson number one. Find me." He opened the lantern and blew out the candle. They were suddenly shrouded in compete darkness except for a few slivers of moonlight showing through the boards of the wall.

…

"Ow!" Lizzy exclaimed as she bumped into someone. Robin and Lizzy had been searching the barn in the dark for a good ten minutes, neither locating Jack nor Ryoko. Ryoko hadn't spoken since and they, though not entirely trusting that Jack hadn't mugged her and ran for the ship, thought that the two must have been planning something.

"Quiet," a deeper voice lanced from the darkness.

"Ryoko?" Lizzy asked.

"I said quiet! You'll never find him if you keep making all that noise."

"Why aren't you looking?" Robin asked. "And where are you by the way?"

"I'm going to go to sleep," Ryoko told them. "And I am in the loft above you. _Bon nuit_." She didn't speak after that and neither did Jack.

"Is there a bed up there?" Robin asked.

"There must be," Lizzy assessed. "She wouldn't sleep on the floor, given her tarantula comment." She froze and breathed in harshly.

"Liz?" Robin asked.

"Th-th-th-there's s-s-s-something on m-m-me!" she whispered harshly. She raised her left hand and touched her right shoulder where she felt a small weight. Her groping fingers came in contact with thin tine-like sticks, jointed and bristled all over.

The thing didn't seem to be moving yet but once she touched it, the thing jumped and tried to get away, moving over her shoulder and down her chest. It dropped to the ground and a screaming Lizzy jumped up and down on it.

Jack laughed and did a mid air sit up, pulling himself higher into the rafters. He'd killed that particular tarantula earlier that day so the thing was dead when he put it on Lizzy. The crawling she'd imagined had just been it falling and given the darkness; she wouldn't have known that Jack was just above her, hanging vertically (and upside down) from the rafters.

"What was it?" Robin asked.

"It was an evil-evil-evil spider! A tarantula the size of Delaware!" Lizzy shrieked. Jack was long gone, now up in the loft.

He looked around, moving as quietly as he could manage. He removed his weapons and boots because they made noises, possibly betraying his position. He noticed that Ryoko was dead asleep again, not moving. He strode quickly to the old chair by the window but heard the voices of the girls below.

"I think he's in the loft," Robin suggested. "I heard something up there."

"It might have been Ryoko," Lizzy answered.

"We'll find out when we get up there," Robin answered back, her voice getting louder as she ascended the ladder to the loft.

Jack looked around quickly, knowing there wasn't much time to hide and his eyes fell on the bed.

The loft was brightly lit by moonlight coming in from the open hayloft portion and he knew that a person standing in front of the open loft would only be seen as a silhouette. He also knew that Ryoko was a heavy sleeper.

When Robin and Lizzy emerged over the edge of the loft, everything was in place. They were surprised at how bright the place was and almost immediately, they spotted their quarry. Jack was sitting smugly in front of the open loft. They couldn't see his face but they were sure he must have been smiling. They ran right past the bed, which held a lumpy figure under the sheets. Once they were past, the figure threw off the sheets and went back down the ladder.

Robin commenced to choking Jack while Lizzy sat on him to pin him down. He began to stir and suddenly stood, throwing them off. That was when Robin realized she was taller than he was.

"Wait a minute," she said aloud. "Ryoko?"

"Who else!" she exclaimed. "I told you I was sleeping up here, though I could have sworn I'd gone to sleep on the bed …."

Suddenly, the girls' attention was fixed on the bed, which was now empty. Ryoko began laughing uncontrollably, clutching her stomach.

"This guy is priceless," she laughed. "Ingenious! He's downstairs now by the way. _Bon nuit_." She flopped back down on the bed.

"You swear like you don't speak French," Lizzy commented. She grabbed Ryoko's ankles and attempted to pull her off the bed.

"Only in class," Ryoko muttered, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"You mean only where you can show off," Robin translated, helping Lizzy. Ryoko still wasn't budging.

"I can't move her! She must be holding on to something," Lizzy answered.

"Or maybe she's just fat," Jack called from below.

"Oh, hell no," Ryoko grunted, doing a pushup motion and flinging herself from the bed. "You've done it now, Sparrow." She flew down the ladder and into the darkness. A crashing noise could be heard, followed by a male voice.

"I didn't mean it! I-Ow! Oof!"

"I'll show you fat, you dirty pirate! If I were fat, your stupid pants would fit!"

"I –Ow! Didn't mean it! I take it back! You're not fat! Ow!"

"Ha ha! That's right! Don't mess with a woman when weight's concerned. I only weigh just over 120 and this isn't even marching season! If you had come a few months later, I'd have weighed ten pounds less!"

"Okay, all right," he told her. "Easy on the beard, darlin'." FLARE! CRASH!

Jack and Ryoko both looked over to the sudden light. Robin and Lizzy had climbed down the ladder and had attempted to light the lantern with matches Lizzy had had in her pocket. The match had flared brightly, blinding them for a moment and frightening Lizzy so that she dropped the match and the lantern.

The lantern fell in an earsplitting crash, spreading out the flame so that it seemed like a small explosion of glass and fire. The fire illuminated the wrestling Jack and Ryoko. She was sitting with her hip on his chest and her right arm attempting to restrain his left wrist. She was pulling on his braided beard and her left knee was holding down his right arm.

They forgot about killing each other when the lantern fell and stood quickly. Jack began to stomp on the fire while Ryoko took a horse blanket from a turn gate and attempted to shroud the flames. Lizzy jumped away and jumped again when she saw the tarantula she'd stomped flat earlier. Robin just stood with an amazed look on her face. Eventually, the fire had been put out but a wide scorched section of the floor and part of the walls were crisped to a black dust. One could have kicked out the wall without much effort.

Footsteps could be heard outside, running quickly. Jack looked frantic. He jumped into a stall and closed the door. Ryoko followed before the footsteps reached the barn and Will opened the heavy door to reveal Robin and Lizzy.

He took in the scene, noting that Robin and Lizzy were clean, though something had burned the floor.

"What in the blazes happened here?" Will asked. His anger was pure and he scanned the loft. "Jack! Where are you?"

"It was an accident actually," Robin piped up.

"Oh, and I suppose the trellis was an accident as well," Will asked acidly. Elizabeth appeared in the doorway. She gave one look at the floor and pointed. There were footprints leading from the blackened area. She moved quickly, following the blackened steps. Throwing the stall door wide, she searched the area, looking for the detested pirate. She did not look above her however.

Jack was sitting on one of the rafters, holding the beads in his hair so they wouldn't clink. Ryoko was lying across another beam, holding her hair back so it wouldn't dangle.

They held their breath and were relieved when Elizabeth turned to leave. That was when Jack noticed a large black object slowly making its way to his knee. There was another tarantula, possibly even bigger than the last, advancing on him.

He eyed it with worry. Jack didn't like spiders and one that size seemed like an omen of death to him. He had shot the last one but any movement now would give him away.

He closed his eyes and managed not to shout when the thing climbed upon his knee. He even managed to stay quiet when it reached his thigh. He began to breathe painfully once it reached his torso.

'_It's heading for my neck_,' he thought. '_I'm not going to die at sea but at the hands, or claws rather, of a ten pound arachnid_!'

Its little claws dug gently into his sleeve and the devil continued to climb. Soon, Jack and the tarantula were eye to eye.

By now, Ryoko had spotted it and she was staring with wide eyes. He would have asked her with his eyes to help him, but he had fixed a terrified gaze on the spider. It raised its front legs and tried to climb onto Jack's head, pulling on his bandana slightly.

"Whoa!" he shrieked (think of Sleepy Hollow) he let go of his beads and flung the spider off him. The arachnid flew from his arm to land . . . on Elizabeth. She felt the impact and looked down at her chest. The tarantula was scrabbling and trying to get a hold on her bodice.

She screamed a high-pitched frequency that shook dust from the rafters. She managed to fling the spider off her chest. It landed on Ryoko, splaying its legs wide on her stomach. The poor thing was now in a state of panic and was moving considerably faster than before, scuttling up Ryoko's shirt and hyper extending its body, seeming to rear up. She shouted and flailed trying to rid herself of the large spider.

This was when Jack and Ryoko found out that certain rafters of the barn weren't rafters but mere parallel boards placed on crossbeams. As she flailed, the board she was on shifted and she began to fall. She somehow managed to catch another, the one Jack was sitting on, and as he tried to help her on, the tarantula pounced, landing on his outstretched hand. He yelled and flung his hand, causing the board he was on to shift as well. He ended up hanging beside her, not unlike the time Will had been hanging from the boom crank of _The Interceptor_.

And here came the persistent tarantula. It must have known its quarry was trapped for it came on slowly, kicking up tiny puffs of dust as it walked jerkily across the board.

Jack began blowing at it in attempt to scare it away. The spider wasn't buying it.

"This is what you get for calling people fat," Ryoko muttered.

"I really didn't mean it," he whispered in fear.

"Are those your last words?" she asked, gripping the edge of the board and kicking. She managed to get her upper body on the board. Reaching out, she knocked the tarantula off the side in one gesture.

It plopped to the ground and scuttled away, hiding beneath a workbench. Jack and Ryoko relaxed but tensed up when a creaking sound split the air. The boards had been fine with one of them but both their weights added together was a bit too much for the wood. They looked at each other with frustration and Jack sagged. The board snapped and they fell to the floor. As soon as their bodies hit the ground, the tarantula reappeared and began crawling towards Jack. He reached for his pistol but realized that he didn't have it. The spider was again advancing.

"Kill it!" he exclaimed, backpedaling and crashing into Ryoko. She moved out of the way and laughed as the tarantula breezed past her, uninterested. Jack tried to kick at it but missed. Will and Robin hauled him to his feet and he immediately leapt behind Will.

"Kill it!" he hissed. "No, better yet. Stun it!" Will smiled and shook his head.

"I think we found what's been killing the rats," Elizabeth commented. "No wonder it's so interested in Jack."

Ryoko scoffed but didn't say anything. She toed the tarantula with her boot and carefully, though definitely not calmly, flung the arachnid into the stall. Jack grabbed his things and ran out the door once this was done.

"Boy, we sure learned a lot," Robin commented sarcastically as everyone followed him.

…

The consequences of the fire and the trellis resulted in both Jack and Ryoko being banned from the house. Though Jack and Ryoko really had nothing to do with the fire, Elizabeth, given the clothing and state both she and Jack were in (soot smudges and the whole tarantula in the rafters incident) had insisted that Ryoko and Jack did not belong in the "civilized" part of the property.

"I am not sleeping in that barn," she said to her friends as the sun rose. "There isn't a chance in heaven or hell that I'm going to share space with both Jack and tarantulas."

"Don't you find it funny," Robin began. "That before we were brought here all she wanted was for Jack Sparrow—"

"_Captain _Jack Sparrow," Lizzy interjected.

"Right," Robin continued. "Captain Jack Sparrow, to be a real person. Now they're like ... biting each others' heads off."

"I don't think it's serious," Ryoko commented. "I'm not mad at him. I knew he was kidding. It's just fun. I don't really think we fight."

"No, I guess not," Lizzy added. "Though you seem to cross each other."

"I can tell you what that is," a voice told her. Jack joined them after speaking with Will. "That's just two dominant people conflicting in too small a space."

"What do you mean?" Lizzy asked.

"Well," Jack thought. "I am captain of _The Black Pearl_, correct?" He looked around, daring anyone to contradict him. They nodded in agreement.

"And Ryoko here," he motioned to the shorter girl. She acknowledged him with a nod. "Is in a way, your captain. Do you remember how Barbossa and I acted together?"

"In the cave right?" Lizzy asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "Where else?" Again, there was way more to know than he knew about his visitors.

"We don't work well together, and neither did the Commodore and I either," Jack continued. "Ryoko and I get along because we are on the same side. But I'd be damned to have you for an enemy, luv." He directed the last at Ryoko who grinned at him.

"Who needs enemies when you've got Ryoko?" Lizzy commented.

"Hey!" Ryoko ran her hands up Lizzy's back with spider like movements and the girl shrieked.

"So they're like magnets," Robin commented. "Two positives will push at each other. In that case, I'm glad I'm not a positive!" She latched onto Jack's arm.

He looked down at her and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. He then looked to Lizzy for help. She giggled and backed away. He looked at Ryoko, who was leaning against a tree, arms crossed, and a very smug look upon her face. She smiled at him, telling him that he was on his own to detach the fan.

Robin was laughing and she knew that if he really wanted her off, he'd be able to rid himself easily by simply running. She hated to run and Jack was fast when he wanted to be. He tried to pry off her fingers but she had one arm pinned.

"Uh . . . Robin?" he said.

"Hmm?"

"Would you be so kind as to release my arm, please?"

"Mmm, no. I don't think so."

"Well, then ..." he grinned. Ryoko laughed.

"You'd better let go," she warned. "You're giving him ideas."

"Well," Robin said, letting him go. "When you put it that way."

Jack shrugged and moved on. "Well done for the first bit of training."

"That wasn't training," Robin groaned. "That was just some stupid idea of yours that led to us getting in trouble."

"Led to who getting in trouble?" Ryoko muttered. "At least you're sleeping in a bed under a real roof." Jack only smiled.

"Are you ready for lesson number two?" Jack sprung suddenly. The three girls stared at him.

"Well," he said laughing. "I must admit I expected a bigger reaction. I guess you don't want a second lesson."

"No, no, no!" Lizzy answered giddily. "Come on! We want to learn."

"It's got to be better than his first lesson," Robin muttered to Ryoko.

Jack grinned at them as they giggled uncontrollably. "I heard that."

The four of them walked off, following Jack, assuming he knew where he was going. It was definitely an interesting way to start the day.

…

_The Poison Dragon _sliced through the waves as she headed to her destination. Mei Lin had given the helmsmen specific instructions, since she really knew nothing about captaining a ship herself. She told him where she thought Jack Sparrow had gone to and told him to get them there or he'd be missing an extremity.

"_And unlike here, when you loose an arm to me, you won't get paid for it_," she threatened in Cantonese. He nodded, knowing full well that she was ruthless enough to do it.

So, _The Poison Dragon _was slicing through the water on a course for a place Mei Lin had only heard of, while Barbossa and Barton aboard the privateer deck took wind to the sails and headed down toward Tortuga.

Barbossa sat at his table and attempted to read the book he'd found within the bureau. He couldn't focus his eyes for some reason. He held the book up close and still couldn't make out the letters. In frustration, he threw the book with quite some force across the room. It hit the wall and slid down the wooden paneling only to flop to a random page.

Barton had been sitting in a corner watching Barbossa struggle. "What will we be doing on Turtle Island?"

Barbossa gave him a look that would have sent that tarantula running. "Turtle Island?"

"Yes," Barton answered. "Isle de Tortue or Tortuga. Turtle Island."

Barbossa continued to stare at him. "You must be the Lord of unuseful information. Would Jack be there?"

"Where else might he go?" Barton asked. "He cannot go to Port Royal because of Norrington. New Orleans is possible but would not suit his purpose of hiding. He may have gone into the Spanish colonies but yet again, that is quite a bit further than one running might take."

"Where is Mei Lin going?" Barbossa asked. "She seemed to think she knew where he was."

"I doubt it," Barton told him. "This was her first time out at sea. Her father was sending her with her brother, hoping she would find a husband on the ship. Apparently, she had had suitors back in China but they all seemed to have "accidents" involving decapitation. She had no weapon and they couldn't prove that she was involved but the suspicion was there. Her father sent her along, thinking she would be coveted by outsiders. She would have a time of killing them."

"I thought the Chinese only married their own," Barbossa commented.

"I think her father is frustrated with her," Barton answered. "Desperate to get rid of her."

"Completely understandable," Barbossa laughed. He cocked his head to the side, realizing that he could read the book now that it was fifteen feet away from him.

And that was when it happened. A voice full of fury shouted from outside. "_Tiburón! Tiburón_!"

Barbossa and Barton moved to the door, staying away from the light that poured in through the windows. The crew were running and shouting, pointing energetically into the water. Barbossa and Barton looked confused but a more familiar word came to them.

"Sharks!"

Their eyes widened and they both looked to the horizon. They still had three hours left until darkness fell. Barbossa turned back to the room and found that from yards away, he could read the book. He grumbled, not yet used to his new abilities.

…

Jack stood on a small bridge overlooking a little creek. The three girls were below him, looking up at the bridge.

He smiled and whistled. A young boy ran up and handed him a bundle of something. He nodded, giving two reales to the boy. The young boy's face lit up and he raced off.

"Hey Jack," Ryoko began. He looked to the questioner.

"Can I borrow a dollar?"

If this had been anime, Robin and Lizzy would have face faulted. To explain, Ryoko was their local free loader. Her family was never really wealthy and she never had lunch money. What little edible food, or likeable, was eaten for dinner. She wasn't allowed to eat her stepmothers' food, though she often did, and anything else had to be cooked, which wasn't much use at school. As it was, Jack looked at her strangely. Not knowing what a dollar was, he tossed her one of the coins.

She hadn't expected him to really do it and the coin surprised her. She caught the unevenly cut piece of silver with a snap and looked at it. "It's a reale!"

Jack nodded. She looked up at him. "You gave the boy two. Why didn't you just give him a ¼ piece of eight?"

Jack shrugged while the others looked surprised. "I just figured he'd like two coins rather than just one, regardless that their value is the same. Kids like to hear the jingle of pieces. Reminds them that they can spend it." She tossed the reale back up to him.

He pocketed it and tossed her one of the bundle. She caught it and looked it over as he tossed two more to the others. It was a sword in a dark leather sheath. She pulled the hilt out slightly, blinking as the cold steel of the blade shone in the light of the morning.

Lizzy pulled the sword out and tossed the sheath to the dew covered ground. She sliced through the air with an audible whoosh. Jack grinned and looked over. Robin had hers out as well and was facing Lizzy, giving her a challenging stare.

Lizzy smiled and moved to a different stance. Robin swung out at her and Lizzy blocked. Robin did this several times and Lizzy blocked every one. Jack looked slightly impressed as he watched.

They continued and Robin threw up her hands. "I give up. Ryoko; you fight her." Ryoko smiled and moved up to place. Lizzy looked calm and her stance hadn't faltered. Ryoko swung quickly, her muscles more used to fighting than her friend's. Lizzy managed to block it, though the change in strength moved the blade a bit. They did that for a while, Ryoko swinging, Lizzy blocking. Ryoko made some move, feigning left and then diving right. Lizzy barely blocked the move using a wide block (which went from around the neck level to below the knees.)

Ryoko looked at Lizzy with a grin. "I figured it out."

"What?" Lizzy asked, but she forgot her question as Ryoko lashed out with her blade again. This time, Ryoko circled Lizzy as she attacked and Lizzy grew frantic. They both froze when Jack cleared his throat. Ryoko's sword was inches away from Lizzy's stomach and Lizzy's likewise.

"It seems you already know how to parry an attack coming from a stationary opponent and Ryoko already knows how to basically attack a moving opponent. You two were never meant to fight. Ryoko, take Robin. I'll take Elizabeth." And the two pairs broke off.

Lizzy began her blocking madness again as Jack repeated Ryoko's moves, though with much more agility, speed, strength, and style. He'd been doing this for a long time. Lizzy's sword was tossed within thirty seconds, and that was only because he was toying with her. It would have taken a third of that time had he been serious and even less for the others.

"Where did you learn those blocks?" he asked her, handing her sword back hilt first.

"My boyfriend and brother both know sword technique and taught me how to block," she answered meekly blushing.

He smiled and nodded. "You and I will be fighting for a while until you learn how to attack. Ryoko and Robin; go ahead and mess around. Just don't kill each other.

…

On the other end of the property, Will and his students were going through a similar process. Will and Nick were facing off before the other two. Nick was getting frustrated, showing just a touch of his sister's temper. He was, again like his sister, better at attacking than blocking. Will had back slashed the sword and flung Nick's sword from his hand. Claudia and Diana clapped enthusiastically.

"My turn," Claudia said, jumping up and selecting a sword from a pile. She unsheathed it and flew at her teacher. They exchanged blows and after awhile, Claudia was bending to pick up her sword. This continued for a while and eventually, Claudia got tired. Diana and Will were about to begin the lesson when the pounding of a horse's hooves brought their attention to the door. A large black stallion saddled in fine leather had been steered toward the property. Atop the steed was none other than ….

"Hey, isn't that that hard nosed dude who wanted to marry Elizabeth?" Claudia asked bluntly.

"Commodore," Will addressed him nervously. "What brings you to my home?"

Norrington looked over and smiled. He allowed the stable hands to lead his horse off as he strode over to Will.

"Good day Mr. Turner," he greeted. "Who might your friends be?"

"Oh," Will laughed. "This is Miss Gonzales and Miss Cobian, and that is young Nicholas. He is my apprentice and the ladies are guests."

Norrington nodded but gave a disapproving look to the women with swords. "They are not Spanish I hope. You do know that Spain is leaning towards aiding the Austrians."

"We're from the colonies," Diana answered. Claudia elbowed her and Diana coughed up more. "Loyalists."

Norrington seemed pleased with that. "Very well. I will not beat around the bush with you Mr. Turner. I have something to show you." He pulled a haversack (leather mind you) and unsnapped the bag. From the bag he pulled a roll of parchment.

Will and the others looked quite interested and Norrington unrolled the scroll with a flourish. Claudia gasped loudly and covered her mouth. On the roll was a crude drawing of someone they knew, followed by these words;

**§-]]-]]-]]§[[-[[-[[-§**

**WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE**

**JACK SPARROW**

**CAPTAIN OF THE BLACK PEARL**

**INFAMOUS FOR CRIMES AGAINST THE CROWN**

**REWARD: ₤10,001**

**§-]]-]]-]]§[[-[[-[[-§**

Norrington rolled the parchment up quickly and put it back in his bag. "I'll expect you to notify me if you see him, Mr. Turner. This is a Company issued bounty and they are rather busy at the moment, but if there's any hint that someone here is harboring Jack Sparrow, I hold no illusions that their chairman will be here as soon as possible to interrogate anyone that is suspect. Any act of harboring such a man is an act of treason and will be dealt with as the law sees fit." He nodded curtly and snapped his fingers. His horse was brought and the commodore mounted and left the property, riding swiftly enough to make dust rise from the path.

The girls and Nick were speechless but Will whistled. The stable hands brought out another horse and Will said something to the man. As Will hoisted himself up, another horse was brought. He rode off to find Jack, trailing the second animal once again.

"Well, that was sudden," Diana commented.

…

CLANG! CLANG! SKWOOOSH! CLANSH!

Jack and Ryoko were going at it now. Everyone had managed to learn to blocks and were working on attacks. Robin and Lizzy watched the two fighters with interest.

"They look so natural," Robin said. "They look like they were meant to fight."

"I think it's just the clothes," Lizzy answered. Their eyes widened as the battle heated up. It was plain that Jack was toying with her because he hadn't lost his grin since the fight began. The whole time he had taught them he had amused himself by trimming down their outfits. Lizzy hadn't any sleeves any more and Robin had lost an inch off the midriff. He hadn't sliced any of Ryoko's garments yet but the others were waiting for him to do it, knowing that she would attempt to annihilate him.

They continued to fight and Ryoko's arm went back, ready to stab forward. Jack was lightning quick and suddenly, all was still. She was looking up at him from inches away, not daring to move. His blade was at the back of her neck, her own blade too far away to slash. He was still smiling and she trembled with frustration.

"There goes your head, luv," he whispered. He began to pull away but froze when the clatter of hooves on cobblestones sounded from the bridge area. Will cantered up and Jack and Ryoko separated.

"Jack! Come on!" Will exclaimed. "You can't stay here!"

Jack looked back at the girls and then back to Will. "What in the blazes do you mean?"

"Norrington just arrived, and he's informed me that the Company has a contract out on you!" he exclaimed. "Dead or alive, you're to be brought in and the price on your head isn't low. I'm taking you to a safer hiding place."

"There wouldn't be any tarantulas now, would there?"

"I suppose you'll find out."

"What Company?" Ryoko asked.

Will looked at her as if she were mad. "The East India Trading Company."

"The blighters are out for me blood," Jack commented, giving her a look. "They make Norrington look weak hearted and rather sweet."

Will held the second horse and Jack attempted to mount the animal. He slid off twice before looking stubbornly up at Will.

"Grab the saddle horn," he instructed.

"What's that? This part here?"

"Oh, move," Ryoko told him. She gripped the saddle horn and swung her leg over the saddle, attempting to reach the stirrups and finally giving up, her feet a few inches from them.

"Show off," Jack muttered. He took her hand and she helped him up behind her.

"Now, hang on and don't bounce around like a goldfish," she instructed. "Try moving with the horse and you won't fall." She dug her toe into the horse's side and prodded him on. Will raced off and Ryoko gave her horse a kick. Jack yelled, much to the delight of Robin and Lizzy but the annoyance of the girl in front of him, and swung back before he got a grip on Ryoko's shoulders. He bounced around for a bit but gained a sense of balance after watching Ryoko move. His hands settled at her waist and the trip grew easier.

It didn't take her long to find Will. The two horses raced off, the second hindered a bit by the extra load. Will waved his hand, signaling that he was going off into the woods. Ryoko prodded her horse on to that direction as well but was blocked by ….

Blocked by a dozen British soldiers, including Murtogg, Mullroy, and the esteemed Commodore himself.

"Shit," she cursed. The horse reared up and Jack's arms went around Ryoko's stomach, choking the air from her lungs as he tried to prevent from falling. The horse settled again and Norrington chuckled.

"Well, if it isn't you," he sneered. "And where are you going?"

"Well," Jack answered, raising one hand in a drunken gesture. "I was thinkin' to buy some eggs from someone in town."

Norrington gave an annoyed smiled and reached up to grab Jack. "You'd better come down now while you're not being shot at or you're liable to be killed without a trial."

"Trial?" Ryoko snapped. She toed the horse and moved them from Norrington's reach. "You're going to hang him anyway! What good is offering a trial going to do!"

"And who might you be?" Norrington asked.

"My identity is none of your concern, Commodore," she told him haughtily.

Jack grinned at Norrington but his smile faltered when the Commodore cleared his throat. "All that associate themselves with Jack Sparrow are condemned to share his fate. Are you associated with this man?"

"Sort of," she answered. "But you can't hang me. I haven't done anything wrong. Being friends with Jack doesn't give me a death sentence."

"Careful luv," Jack whispered. "The Commodore doesn't particularly like those that outsmart him."

"What relation have you to this man?" Norrington continued.

"Relation?" she asked. She looked at Jack.

"She's my ... er ... sister," he answered less than convincingly.

"She don't look loik ya sista," one of the officers pointed out.

"You don't have a sister, Jack," the commodore answered. "Since you've such a bounty on your head, many had tried to find you through family and you've nothing but your ship and your crew, which cannot be found."

"Well, then," Jack answered, giving the commodore and bold look. "You've squeezed the truth from me, gents. She be a mere milkmaid I kidnapped." The look Ryoko sent back at him could have boiled the arctic or frozen Venezuela.

"Milkmaid, eh?" someone laughed. "Why's she wearin' your clothes?" The men laughed and made suggestive comments.

"Because somebody ruined mine," she answered curtly. She hadn't meant this to be anything but the truth but it was only fuel to their fire. They howled and laughed.

"I didn't mean it that way, you pervs! And wile we're at it, I am most certainly not a milkmaid!" she shouted. Jack laughed at this and almost fell off the horse. He grabbed her waist again and this time, the soldiers didn't laugh.

Norrington scoffed. "Then what are you? Animal, vegetable, mineral?"

Ryoko gave him a scorned look. "What the hell are you blabbering about?"

Norrington smirked. "Pirate then, is it?" Jack molded himself to her back as if to hide. As much as this was difficult to ignore, she managed to keep her face blank.

"Don't do anything stupid," he whispered. She snorted and gave Norrington a rude hand signal. He blinked in perplexity. She looked at her solitary finger, smiled, and added another. Suddenly the soldiers scoffed indignantly. (Middle and index fingers up, palm facing away from insultee, Brit equivalent of the 'finger'.)

Norrington smiled. "So, Jack. You've found yourself a woman."

"Go to hell!" Ryoko exclaimed. She was ignored.

"Does it seem that way to you?" Jack asked, squinting. Norrington reached again and this time Ryoko spurred the horse. Jack yelled and grabbed and the horse flew over the soldiers.

"Outta here!" she exclaimed. Jack hung on for dear life and the horse barreled into town. Everyone threw themselves out of the way, spilling fruit and other such goods to the floor in their haste to get out of the horse's path. One of the soldiers grabbed on to the saddle, trying to pull one or both of them off. He succeeded in being dragged a few yards before being thrown into a cart of fruit.

"Not so fast," someone shouted. Ryoko and company turned to find a line of soldiers blocking any further progress. She about faced and raced off in the other direction, coming up on the fort. Again, her escape was blocked. Instead of turning, she kept on barreling forward, the men dodging at the last second. The horse climbed the steps of the fort and entered the main part. Unfortunately, there were soldiers in the towers and they had spotted the intruders. The horse ran into a shaded area and the riders dismounted, Jack with some difficulty. He and Ryoko ran up a flight of steps and found the parapet that everyone seemed to fall off. They stepped up to it and looked at each other.

"I sure hope I survive this fall," Ryoko told him.

"Luv," he answered. "You'll survive." He held out his hand and just as the lobster backs cleared the stairs, they jumped together.

A familiar lieutenant started laughing his head off.

"Gillette," Norrington asked. "What are you giggling about?"

"Well, Commodore," he explained. "Since that parapet is such a hazard, we've installed nets below to catch anyone before they hit the water. Sparrow and the girl are now stuck in said net."

Norrington looked at Gillette with wide eyes and then lunged to the edge to see. Sure enough, the two escapees were floundered in a net some fifteen feet above the water.

"Bring them in," Norrington ordered. "I'm sure there is a jail cell that will welcome them."

…

Well . . . how'd you like it? Good? Bad? Superb? Horrible? Attention to friends of the author or participants in the story. If you read the damn thing, review the damn thing. Don't call me and tell me what you think. REVIEW! Come on, I know you're out there. You can't hide from me forever.

Revisited 10-24-06


	6. Chapter V : Rose by Another Name

Oh boy. I bet you people thought I'd forgotten about this story, eh? NOT! I had to move up to Oregon and my connection got cut off. I'm sure some of you have been in contact with this fics sister story, the title of which is lost to me at the moment. Something about a girl and twin boys and an attention grabber known as an adult scene in the second chapter! I'm sorry to the author (whom is one of my close friends) that I speak so vaguely of the details. She can grill me in her next review, assuming I live long enough in the wilderness to read it.

**Chapter V – A Rose by Another Name**

"This is all your fault," Jack muttered to Ryoko.

"Excuse me?" she cried, kicking up a handful of dry straw at him. "Mr. Sparrow, you are a pirate, and I am a young innocent girl."

He coughed. "Innocent? I'll eat my beard if you aren't as coarse as some of my men!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she exclaimed.

"Just look at you," he answered, moving closer. "Dressed in a man's clothing, your hair's a mess, you've no makeup. I've one little suggestion for the time being." He reached quickly and deftly undid the first few buttons on the shirt, spilling down enough to show that she'd kept her own under garments.

The blow rang on the air and he staggered with the force of it. He looked back at her with wide, brown eyes, reminding Ryoko of her two Labradors at home. The look was identical to one, coincidentally named Whiskey, when he'd done something wrong and gotten hit for it.

"Don't act like you didn't deserve that," she shouted at him. "The only reason I'm dressed like this is because Elizabeth is an overbearing crazy lady and Barbossa's men ate my clothes!"

He grinned and rubbed his cheek. "I'm not denying that I had that one coming but you've only proved one of my points. Anamaria's hands never struck me that hard. And she _never_ closed her fist. You just slugged me!"

"That's because Anamaria likes you," Ryoko told him. "I'll admit that on the big screen, you make my heart whir but in person, your smell is a bit lax in control."

"You don't smell so great yourself, luv," he retorted.

"Gimme a break! It's not like I packed deodorant to go to the movies!"

"Pardon?"

"Never mind."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

Ryoko sighed. "You believe that I'm from the future correct?" He nodded. "Some things I mention are from that time and I don't have the patience to explain every little thing."

He shrugged and a metallic clanging echoed off the stone walls. He jumped back from the bars to stand behind Ryoko. Their attention was all for the well-dressed gentleman that stood before them.

Commodore Norrington stood confidently, twirling a ring of keys around one long finger, pacing gently in front of their cell. He fixed a glare on Ryoko.

"Who _are _you?"

She snorted. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

He smiled curtly. "There are only two kinds of women who keep a scoundrel's company. They are either their mother, or their woman. You look a bit young to be Sparrow's mother."

Ryoko, much to both the men's surprise, burst into violent laughter. "Oh, boy. Commodore, surely you don't think that I am his … woman."

The Commodore raised one eyebrow. "If this is not so, then why are you in such a lacking state of dress?" She looked confused for a moment, wondering what he was getting at when she noticed his eyes. They were fixed not on her face, but about a few inches lower, on her open front. Jack's ... adjustments had remained while she argued with him, her cleavage showing quite nicely. Well, maybe not to her point of view.

She quickly buttoned the shirt, her face burning. The Commodore only nodded in triumph. He unrolled a scrim of parchment.

"You're execution, Mr. Sparrow, will be held tomorrow at noon, and shortly followed by your ... accomplice. Mr. Turner will be held within the jail until your sentence has been carried out. Though he is an upstanding citizen of Port Royal, he has on several occasions aided your escape."

"What about trial?" Ryoko asked. "Don't we deserve one?"

The Commodore fixed his glare upon her again. "There is enough evidence of his malfeasance to require an execution, without the need of a trial. In your case, the interaction with a pirate warrants the same sentence."

"No!" Ryoko pressed against the bars. "Everyone is entitled to a trial by a jury of peers! You can't just kill us!"

"Actually, the Company, or rather their chairman has suspended that right, among others. So yes, woman, we can just kill you."

The two cellmates traded looks of doom. The Commodore smiled. "Now I'll need your name."

Ryoko jerked her face towards him. "Why?"

"I'll need to know what to put on the tombstone, and what to put in the proclamations of your hanging."

Ryoko spat at him. "Make something up if it suits you. I don't intend to die tomorrow."

The Commodore ignored the comment. "As you wish." He made some note of this and rolled up the parchment. "Adieu."

"Asshole," Ryoko muttered.

"I concur," Jack agreed.

"At least we agree on something."

…

Claudia and Diana ran through the trees on the far side of the island. As they cleared the foliage, _the Pearl _loomed in their vision. The girls ran up to it and right up the gangplank without even alarming the crew, or so they thought.

Anamaria appeared to the side of the railing, holding her saber. "Where's Jack?"

"He's in jail," Claudia answered, trying to catch her breath. Diana took over.

"He said to tell you to leave without him," she relayed. "The Navy's searching for this ship and he wants you gone rather than help him escape."

"He also said that this was a direct order and that disobeying him would end in rough consequences," Claudia finished.

Anamaria nodded and began barking orders all around. The crew became busy before the girls' eyes.

"Are you coming with us?" Anamaria asked them. The girls looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

"_Bien sur_," Claudia answered.

…

Will Turner made several visits during the night. There was exactly one ship leaving the harbor tomorrow, and luck would have it being around one. Will packed two sets of clothing, one male and one female. He didn't know how well his plan would work, seeing as he was going to be locked up during the executions but Robin and Lizzy were still present. He had informed them thoroughly on what must take place.

The first thing would be Murtogg's part, which was to be in charge of holding Ryoko as Jack was being hung. He had been enlightened to the plan and had agreed to go along. He would untie Ryoko's hands and cut Sparrow's line. Lizzy and Robin were equipped with weapons. The bundles of clothes (for Jack) were to be concealed under the escapees' belts. Ryoko's clothing was to be at their changing destination.

The last thing to take care of was David of the ship Will and the others had ridden in to Port Royal. He was to aid the two to his home so they could change. The plan would be to get onto the boat under the aliases of cousins of Gov. Swann.

Of course, nothing ever goes exactly to plan.

…

"We are here Miss Lin."

"Good," Mei Lin answered. She looked out on the beautiful coastal city of; you guessed it, Port Royal. It was about ten in the morning and Mei Lin had arrived right where she wanted to be. Too bad Barbossa didn't take the time to try to understand her, or he might have had Sparrow.

_The Poison Dragon_ had been guided by a wise captain into the very cove that _the_ _Pearl _had resided in the night before. Mei Lin, knowing very well that all in Port Royal would not welcome her presence, shrouded herself in a black cloak and proceded to the town.

Not knowing where she was going, she stumbled into the square about an hour later and looked at the town itinerary posted on a notice board. She could not read enough in English to understand but the crowd around her spoke so much that there was no need.

"Jack Sparrow? Executed today along with someone else. That name can't be right!"

"Maybe she's his sister."

"It's possible, but would his sister have a French name?"

"Well, he's a pirate. He may be French for all we know."

Well, Mei Lin knew that Jack was to be executed along with some woman that no one seemed to know. She followed the crowd.

…

"Put these under your clothes," Lizzy told the prisoners. She'd been granted one last visit and had brought Jack's disguise. Ryoko's disguise, a full out gown, would not fit under her clothes thus she carried the top to Jack's outfit and he, the bottoms, cinched tight under their belts.

They had already been briefed on the plan, as risky as it was and could only hope to God that it worked.

"Good luck, Ryoko," Lizzy said sincerely. She giggled.

"My best friend giggles at my impending death," Ryoko muttered. Obviously, the girls didn't believe that they were at stake … at the stake … literally.

"You should see what's on the notice board," Lizzy told her.

"What?"

"You'll see."

"You suck! I'm about to die and you're being petty."

"No one's going to die."

They argued like this for a few minutes until Gillette stepped into the hall and motioned for her to leave. He grinned evilly and he and Murtogg escorted the prisoners from their cell.

Gillette was shoving Jack roughly, cackling all the way, very smug with himself while Murtogg was being gentle. They marched out into the sunlit square and the two prisoners were displayed before the town. The Crier of Port Royal stood as Jack glanced around and began to cite the crimes committed by Jack.

Ryoko was only half listening, searching for David. She spotted him near the doors, which were being held open, unnoticed by the navy, by Lizzy and Robin. Ryoko turned back to the Crier.

". . . hung from the neck until dead where he will hereby be followed by his accomplice and more, by the name of Scarlette Sparrow, crimes committed, see above."

Ryoko started coughing furiously, her face paling in shock. Scarlette Sparrow? She'd been called worse. She sent a furious look at Jack who was shaking his head and laughing. He caught her eye and attempted at smoothing out his features. He was jerked away to the noose amongst boos, hisses and gasps at the title.

And upon the battlements, unseen to all, was a small shrouded figure with eyes thinned in rage. Mei Lin watched the scenario unfold and made her own conclusions. That is not to say that her conclusions were congruent to anyone else's. She leapt to the ground and mingled.

At this time, Jack's noose was being cinched. The whole congregation was surprised to hear a battle cry coming from within their ranks. The small figure in black jumped from the throng and flung a sharp knife in Jack's direction. His eyes widened as the blade heading for his neck, drew closer and closer. Time seemed to slow down dramatically. He couldn't duck because of the noose.

Ku-CLANK! The trap door opened, dropping Sparrow down a foot or two. The knife, slicing through the air where his neck had been, severed the rope, dumping him roughly to the ground. Ryoko, free of her restraints thanks to Murtogg, grabbed the knife, which had embedded itself in the gallows, jumped down to Jack and slashed the rope holding his hands.

The black cloaked figure was screaming in some foreign language and flying around the square, _Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon _style, thus keeping the attention of the crowd. Jack and Ryoko ran to David and the three sprinted from the square, mounting yet another horse. Jack was getting used to riding behind Ryoko and the trip to David's home was short. Robin, being the genius that she was, led the horse down to the blacksmith's shop and tied it there so that, assuming anyone had seen them escape on it, they would not look in David's house.

Once inside, they began to change, no matter that they were in the same room. There was no time for modesty. Lizzy and Robin helped Ryoko into the dress, the same pink one as before and one of David's maids did up her hair in record timing, pinning a lovely little hat to her hair and handing her a parasol.

"Why did we have to carry his clothes?" Ryoko asked. "Wouldn't it have been a better idea to have them here with mine?"

"It was in case the two of you couldn't get down here. Ryoko could have virtually disappeared but everyone knows Jack. He needed his disguise regardless of where you guys ended up."

Jack was having less luck with his hair, not having touched it in a while. Using water and other things, the girls, minus Ryoko, got it as untangled as it was going to get. Robin quickly braided his coarse black mane, collecting his beads and such and placing them in a bag. He wasn't too happy about being stripped of his ornaments but the necessity of it was understood. He placed on a hat not unlike his own, though without tears. His clothing looked tailored and proper, though he kept the boots. They tossed the extra clothing into a rucksack and were almost ready. Ryoko stepped into dainty heels and unfolded her parasol.

Robin wrinkled her nose and pinched Ryoko's cheek. "You look so _cute_."

"I look like a Princess Peach reject," she answered, giving her parasol a whirl.

She hugged her friends while Jack waited, promising that they would return. Ryoko and Jack had just turned a corner when the navy came down the street. Spotting the horse, they rushed to the shop, luckily not having noticed David's face at the square amongst all the other spectators, and began to flood into it. Only one person looked down the street in the direction they had gone but all he saw were a gentleman and his lady friend taking a stroll.

…

Meanwhile, Mei Lin was frantically trying to escape the square with its crush of citizens. She had meant to kill Jack before Norrington could but had ironically ended up saving him. What really made her angry was that Ryoko, by name of Sparrow, had been there. Mei Lin knew she wasn't his sister so she had concluded that Jack had ... dare I say it ... Married?

She cleared the east parapet as this resolution occurred to her and swallowed her emotions. She ran through the jungle bit of the island, her endurance stronger than most. She stopped before reaching the ship to wipe away her tears.

{FLASHBACK}

_ "But father!" Mei Lin cried. "You cannot kill this man!"_

_ "It must be done, daughter," Tao Chun Lin answered. "He has shamed the Lin clan for the last time."_

_ "No, father," she cried. "I do not care if he has embarrassed you. I will die if he is killed." Tears fell from her eyes and her father became sympathetic._

_ "Why, dear daughter, do you care about his death?" _

_ She choked on her tears. "Do not hate me for my decision, father, but . . . I love him. I do not care what society thinks of me. I would be his."_

_ Jack Sparrow's face did not change from his somber expression during this exchange, though he understood. He was a man of many languages and spoke in English to Tao Chun Lin._

_ "I have a solution to your problem," he told him. Tao Lin understood English but Mei Lin at the time did not._

_ "Your death would be a good one," Tao answered. _

_ "I think we both know that I do not love your daughter and to say so would have the community in an uproar," Jack continued. "I think my death would damage her irreparably but my leaving would not. In fact, my leaving without an explanation would anger her to the point of hatred for me, I think. This would benefit you."_

_ Tao considered it and nodded. "Very well, Sparrow. I'll allow you quarter for tonight but you'd better be gone by morning."_

_ "We have an accord," Jack answered, holding out his hand to Tao Lin. They shook and bowed and Mei Lin was happy. For the time being._

_ She woke the next morning, finding Jack gone. She interrogated her father on Jack's whereabouts and her father told her the truth. Jack did not love her. He had gone away without her._

_ Mei Lin seethed with anger at her father's lie, for that's what she took it for. It was not until a trusted servant told her that his words were in fact truth. She developed a hatred for Jack, a hate so strong that it could only have been love once. She vowed to seek revenge on him someday._

{END FLASHBACK}

She realized the thought of Jack with another woman still hurt her but that did not stop her craving for his blood. She would hurt him instead.

Once aboard _The Poison Dragon_, she barked out orders to head to Tortuga. The new helmsman did not argue or even ask why. His mistress' word was law on the ship.

As they were sailing away, she caught sight of a three masted ship heading in a different direction. She took note of this and continued barking out her orders.

…

"Where do you think they went?" Barton asked Barbossa.

"I be not knowing anything at this time," Barbossa replied a bit snappishly. "If I be knowing, I be going, eh."

They were seated in a Tortuga bar about a block from the harbor. Barbossa had ordered a drink out of habit and thrown it in anger against the wall of the tavern when he'd tried to drink it.

"At least it doesn't turn into ash," he commented. They both turned to the door of the tavern as a red headed woman entered. She was quite beautiful except for the eye patch that covered her left eye. Her remaining eye was so dark one might think it was black. She possessed a comely figure but the most alluring thing about her was that she was over six feet tall.

Barbossa and Barton watched her carefully as she ordered a drink and arranged for a room overnight. Scanning the crowd, she caught Barbossa's eye. She moved from the bar and came to their table, quickly seating herself.

"Evenin' boys," she began, her voice quite Southern. "Name's Belle Watling. Either of you know anything 'bout a man called Sparrow?"

Barbossa schooled his face but Barton sucked in a breath. "What's it to such a lass as yourself?"

"I am a bounty hunter," she told him. "Sparrow's got a hefty price on his head as well as some woman called Scarlette."

"I know Sparrow," Barbossa allowed. "But this Scarlette character is unknown to me."

"Apparently, she's something to him," Belle informed. "The warrants read Jack and Scarlette Sparrow."

"She may be a sister," Barton mentioned. "We just tangled with him hardly a week ago and he had no woman with him, or no woman matching that description."

"What of the one we took aboard that he rescued?" Barbossa asked.

"Was her name not something of the orient?" Barton contradicted. "Scarlette is European."

"It doesn't matter," Belle said. "She is one of his weaknesses and I intend to capture them both."

Barbossa smiled at her. "Tell you what, Miss Watling. What would you say if I were to offer to help?"

"I would say no," she answered curtly. "You'll want part of the prize money and that's all mine."

"You can keep all the money," he assured her. Barton looked at him ludicrously. Barbossa ignored him.

She seemed to consider it. "Have you got a ship?"

"Of course," Barbossa answered. "I am Captain Barbossa and this here's my … acquaintance, Barton James."

She scooted her chair back abruptly and stood, offering her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Captain. I may be mistaken, being from Charleston and all, but rumor has it Sparrow killed one named for you … any relation?"

Barbossa chuckled. "The same, lass."

Belle sucked in a breath and studied him for a moment. "So … you're dead? How?"

"Not permanently, dear," he explained. "Thanks to Barton, I was able to be resurrected. Also, the blood of a certain creature enables us to travel ahead of our time to acquire a very ... efficient weapon."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

Barbossa reached to his hip and drew the weapon. It was a modern gun, matted black and very square, unlike the pistols she was used to. She took it in her hand and studied it.

"We could rule the Caribbean with these," Barbossa pointed out. "Multiple shot and not as much recoil. Not to mention better accuracy. Everything is internal. No need to add powder." Belle looked at the gun hungrily. He motioned with his hand. "Keep it. Call it a token of our partnership."

She put it away quickly, lest he change his mind. He stood and Barton followed.

"Will you be joining us tonight?" he asked her.

"No. I've already got a room."

"Very well," he answered. "I'll come for you tomorrow evening and we'll search for that dog together."

They said their goodbyes and Belle finished her drink alone, wondering what the catch was.

On the stairs, Barton asked him a few questions. "That seemed odd of you. From what I've heard of your greatness, you never allied with anyone you had no use for. What's going on?"

"James, for the first time in ten years I can bend to the wants of the body. If I want a pretty woman about, what business is it of yours?"

Barton's face grew angry for a moment and he didn't answer. Barbossa noticed but didn't comment further.

…

"Stop laughing you bastard!"

Jack was lounging on his bunk, laughing his head off. He wore a cream-colored shirt under a pale gold vest with darker gold embroidery. His breeches were of a pale brown and he wore his brown leather boots. He looked presentable but nice clothes would not hide his nature.

"It isn't funny and it's your fault, you cad," Ryoko shouted. The other passengers were on the deck, listening to the captain talk about the voyage. Ryoko and Jack had to avoid confrontation as much as possible for they had overheard someone speaking of their escape and flaunting a poster around.

"It isn't my fault," Jack laughed. "You're the one who refused to give him your name. _Scarlette Sparrow_, hah!" He thought it was hilarious basically because it made Ryoko so angry.

"I'll just be known as your sister then," she concluded.

"You and I both know that isn't what Norrington meant," Jack taunted. "You are known to this world as my ... accomplice and more."

"Shut up," she retorted. "Maybe I wouldn't mind being that to Johnny Depp but you are impossible!"

"Who?"

"Never mind."

"Ahh, more future things eh?"

"Perhaps," she answered. "Who was the crazy in the shroud?"

"Mei Lin," he answered. He relieved the story to her. "She's out for my life oddly."

"Everyone's out for your life," she snorted. "Where are we headed?"

"New Orleans," he answered.

"Cool!" Ryoko exclaimed. "I always wanted to visit that place." (Those of you reading this post-Katrina … I'm sorry. I had written it in '03)

"You'll have to be careful there," Jack cautioned. "This is not your time and a girl of your stature is fair game to any Frenchman who would have the misfortune of trying to ... get acquainted with you."

"I'll be better off than you will," she answered. "I speak French."

"How do you know I do not?" he asked. "You should not assume things of me."

"Do you? I know you speak Chinese but French as well?"

"Actually, you were right," he answered. "Spanish yes, French? Hardly any. I can ask for a drink or the bathroom and not much else."

"They speak English there, too," she reassured him.

"Maybe in your era they do," he contradicted. "In this time it's hardly the case. You'll be speaking for the majority."

"_Merde_," she answered and laughed.

"What?"

"_Rien_."

"Oh, no you don't," he retorted. "That's not fair."

"Oh, isn't it?" she asked innocently. "You're the one who got me into this mess. Almost hung, called a name that wasn't mine, thought to be your ... strumpet. Not to mention, there's a price on both our heads now. And this stupid dress! It's pink and uncomfortable."

"But it suits you so well," he answered, his gaze darting lower for a split second.

"You're about two seconds away from being knocked in the dome again."

He only grinned and stretched out on his bunk. "'Night, Darlin'."

"Don't call me that." She sat and attempted to lie down but the stays cut into her ribs.

"Crap!" she exclaimed. "Do we have a traveling bag?"

"Under the bunk," he answered without looking at her. She carefully bent down and retrieved it. Digging through it, she found exactly what she was searching for; a long white dressing gown with an accompanying robe. She took the two garments and retreated to a corner. She untied the front of her bodice and attempted to reach the top of the stays. Reaching up first, and then down, she realized that were she to reach the laces, the knots were too tight to untie. She stamped her foot in anger and almost screamed when she felt rough fingers at her back.

"Stop jumping 'round and hold still," Jack told her. He untied the strings and the corset came loose. Clearly, he'd had practice. He retreated to his bunk before giving Ryoko any inclination to hit him. When she had dressed completely, she padded back to her bunk, the dress draped over one arm and the abominable corset held in the other.

"Thank you," she said quickly.

He only grunted and rolled over to face her. "You sound so sincere."

"I can be, when you aren't joking around," she answered, stowing the dress and accessories beneath the bunk. He smiled and rolled back over.

…

The light dawned harshly on Port Royal the next morning and Robin blinked as the light filtered in through her window. She looked over to the sleeping Lizzy and laughed. The smaller girl was covered completely in the sheets and only her hair could be seen above them.

Robin stood and moved quickly to her friend's bed, sitting on the sheets and tickling the lump that lay beneath them. Lizzy began thrashing and screaming, laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes. She finally wrenched herself from the bed and chased Robin down the stairs to the main hall where they grappled playfully with each other, their long dressing gowns swaying with their movements.

A loud knocking on the big oak door startled them and Lizzy fell to her knees. The butler emerged from some nook in the large house to get the door and averted his gaze as he passed by them. Robin glanced down and realized that their dressing gowns were seen as indecent wear. She hastened up to their room to retrieve their robes.

After they were properly clothed, the two girls went to see who had been at the door. It was a portly gentleman with the accepted white wig, his tailored frock coat and breeches a pale red color. He was chatting with the butler amiably and smiled when he caught sight of the girls.

"They'll love it, I daresay," the man said. "I must be off. The Governor has other duties for us to attend to this morning. Good day." The man stepped off the front porch and walked briskly to his carriage, his black shoes clattering loudly on the cobblestone walk. Once he had alighted in the carriage, the man on the box seat whipped the reigns and the powerful brown horses that pulled the carriage took off at a moderate trot.

"What did he mean by that?" Robin asked the butler.

"You ladies will find out from the master of this house," the butler answered. "I am not in a position to answer your questions, I'm sorry."

Lizzy knotted her brow and Robin hiked an eyebrow. All three of them turned their attention to the staircase as someone descended. It was Will.

"Good morning," he said to them. "Who was at the door?"

"One of the Governor's friends. He dropped this off, sir." The butler handed Will a roll of parchment. Will unrolled the parchment and read quickly.

"Well, of course," Will scoffed. "He didn't say anything about this to me."

"What is it?" Lizzy asked.

"There's going to be a ball," Will answered. "Governor Swann is holding one in three week's time. I wonder why."

"A ball?" the girls squealed excitedly.

"I've never been to one of those," Lizzy exclaimed. "We get to go, right?"

"Of course," Will answered. "Why wouldn't you? All ladies are welcome although Elizabeth will put it upon herself to get you some proper dancing dresses for such an outing. Such things are important to women." He shrugged and Robin almost pinched his cheeks for his cuteness.

They were just thinking about how much fun it would be when Elizabeth came down the stairs, her robe held closed with one hand, the other hand trailing on the banister.

"What is it, dear?" she asked Will.

"Your father has announced a ball in three weeks," Will answered. "No reason mentioned."

Elizabeth smiled secretly. "I know the reason but I'm not going to tell you."

"Why not?" Will asked.

"It's a secret, dear," she answered playfully.

"Is it a good secret?"

"Oh, yes darling. A very good secret."

Robin nudged the staring Lizzy and they retreated upstairs.

"He's so gorgeous," Robin commented. "But they need their privacy. What do you think the secret could be?"

"I don't know," Lizzy shrugged. "I hate guessing games. Where are Claudia and Diana?"

"Beats me," Robin commented. "I can't stand Diana but Claudia I miss."

"Maybe they went off with _the Pearl_," Lizzy suggested. "That's where they were headed when we last saw them."

"I wonder how Ryoko's doing," Robin said. "Lucky girl, going off with Jack. It's not fair. She gets to do everything with him."

"Claudia said they were sharing the bed on _the_ _Pearl_," Lizzy added giggling.

"Now if Ryoko were here she'd be squawking that nothing happened," Robin laughed. "Maybe nothing did, but he keeps baiting her. Remember when we were changing and he hinted that he'd seen her wares? I think that's what he said."

"Who knows," Lizzy answered. "Maybe because she was wearing his clothing."

"What about her new name?" Robin asked. "Scarlette Sparrow?"

"That was all Norrington's fault, Robin," Lizzy argued.

"Hardly," Robin answered. "You know she loves him just as much as we do."

"She likes Johnny Depp," Lizzy contradicted. "She fights with Jack Sparrow as if he were a friend only, and hardly that much."

"Whatever," Robin ended. "Let's talk about something else."

Just then, Angelique entered and made their beds. She smiled prettily and bowed before leaving.

"I wonder how we're going to get home," Lizzy said, taking off the robe. She took her old clothes and laid them out on her bed.

"I'm not sure I want to go home," Robin commented.

"How can you say that?' Lizzy exclaimed. "Don't you miss our friends or school?"

"Or CD players and running water," Robin added. "Yes of course I miss those things but we're in an adventure here. Don't you get excited thinking that we might be attacked by pirates or see an actual sword fight? How can you sit there and say you want to go home?" Lizzy sulked.

"Oh, I know," Robin scoffed. "Your boyfriend, right?"

"You don't understand," Lizzy answered. "You don't have a boyfriend."

"Thanks for reminding me," Robin snorted, changing quickly out of her clothes. "I love you too, Liz." She slipped on her old garments and hurried out of the room, leaving Lizzy to pout by herself.

…

"Oh, why in the world did I agree to this?" Diana exclaimed as she lost herself over the side of the ship.

Claudia was there rubbing her back. "It's your fault. You shouldn't have eaten that fruit. I told you it would make you sick but did you listen to me? Of course not! And now where are you? Puking your guts out from the side of a ship, _The Black Pearl _no less."

The ship, as Claudia had found out that morning was headed to Isla de Muerta. Jack was on his way to New Orleans where he would find a ship and meet them there. That had been agreed upon by him and Gibbs if they were ever separated again. The reason for that location was that no one but those already knowing where to look could find the island and so few people knew where it was that it made their position one of quiet sureness.

Claudia and Diana had spent the night on _the Pearl _amidst men who relived the adventure of the living skeletons of Barbossa over and over again. They loved the fact that the girls knew all about it and contributed facts that the pirates may have forgotten. Now, however, Diana was sick due to an overripe peach she'd eaten.

"Oooha," she exclaimed. "Are we there yet?"

"Not for a few more days, D. You're screwed," Claudia answered.

"It only took a day last time!"

Anamaria passed by and looked at the girls for a moment. "Have you tried drinking tea? It helps a bit."

"Thank you," Diana choked.

Anamaria nodded though Diana couldn't see her.

"I hope Jack is all right," she muttered.

"He should be," Claudia told the pirate woman. "He said if he wasn't back in a month to go ahead and leave, but I can't imagine anything bad actually happening to him. He can get out of just about anything."

"A month?" Anamaria exclaimed. "He expects to be gone that long?"

"Well," Claudia answered. "He is going to New Orleans. Who knows how long it'll take him to get a ship once he gets there."

"Assuming he gets there," Anamaria muttered. "There's a storm coming in, a few days wait. That's why we can't just book it to the island. _The Pearl _can take just about anything but the vessel he may have gone out on could be anything from a sloop to a ship of the line."

"I have no idea what you just said but I hope he makes it too," Diana groaned.

"Let's work on you right now," Anamaria answered. She disappeared below decks and came back a few minutes later with a mug steaming with some liquid. Diana gripped it carefully and cautiously took a sip of the hot liquid.

This went on for days. Diana would wake, and lose her innards over the side, Anamaria or some other understanding crewmember would go and make the draught and bring it back up to her. Claudia was well respected aboard because she never seemed to get sick even though some of the crewmembers were losing more than Diana was, but only because they had eaten more.

When they were about three days away from Isla de Muerta, a storm blew over _the Pearl_. Gibbs wanted to let the sails down and rest the masts so as not to weaken them to the point of breaking but Anamaria insisted.

"What would Jack do?" she asked. "He would keep going, wouldn't he? Why should we do less, heave to men!" and they did, and got thoroughly drenched in the process. Claudia and Diana were down below.

"It's s-s-s-s-so cold!" Diana stammered. Water from above was streaming down the stairs and getting their feet wet.

"Well, duh," Claudia scoffed, warm in her Doc Martins. "This ain't California and we're in the middle of a storm. I'm just glad you didn't eat anything or we'd be stepping in your puke."

"Gee thanks," Diana groaned. "No concern for my well being, only for your nice boots."

"I was kidding of course you silly goose," Claudia exclaimed, shivering. "I wish we had some blankets or something. This Caribbean storm thing just isn't all that great."

And so, the girls clung to each other below the deck of _the Black Pearl _and rode out the storm of their life.

…

The day before, the storm had hit elsewhere. The small ship that held Jack and Ryoko had the unlucky task of harboring a captain as mad as Jack and stubborn as Ryoko.

"Sir," one of the officers began, addressing Captain Arod (Not to be confused with Ahab). "There's a large storm blowing and I think we should bring up the sails before something regrettable takes place."

"Who is captain aboard this ship?" Arod asked curtly. "Certainly not those who think it's time to tie sails already. We can last a bit longer. Make sure the few passengers are below. And fix your hat."

The officer nodded and pushed his hat back center from its askew position. He went to find the Swann cousins and the other passengers. They were on board a merchant ship, a type called a Barquentine or a Bark for short. Though this was a merchant ship, it did board up to twenty passengers for a fare. They only happened to have about eight this trip round.

He had found all but the Swanns when a wave hit the side and rocked him so violently he almost fell headlong over the side. A strong hand closed on the back of his vest and yanked him back. He turned to find Mr. Swann and his sister. Mr. Swann had been the one who'd pulled him back and there seemed to be something familiar about his face.

"The Cap'n says to get below," he told them. They exchanged glances, the man a little amused, the girl worried. They complied without a word and the officer sighed and went back to his duties.

Below decks, there was a monstrous gossip circle going on.

"There's a storm brewin'," Old Man Dimitri muttered. He and his wife were on their way to New Orleans for the summer and they'd taken the Bark to not alert their children of the plan. Christophe O'Malley and his two buddies Geri Tonkins and Billie Sands were, like Jack and Ryoko, fleeing from the law. The last passenger, a quiet man by name of Williams, was a schoolteacher and on his way to Louisiana to become the tutor of a bratty little rich kid.

Jack and Ryoko stepped quietly down the steps to be confronted by the sight before them. All six of the other passengers were crammed in the bunk room and speaking rapidly about their present condition.

"We could die!" Geri Tonkins exclaimed. "What the hell is bloody Arod thinking? This isn't what we pay him for."

"Sit down, you fish bellied wretch," Dimitri commanded the younger man. "We willn't die tonight. Arod may be a crack but if he can't get us through, no'un can."

"S'not true, man," Christophe interjected. "There's a man I know of, can get out of anything."

Before they could hear what Christophe was about to say, Jack grabbed Ryoko's arm and motioned with his head. She followed him as he cut through the room and opened a wooden door on the far wall. He shut the door and they both listened from the other side.

"What's up with them?" a voice asked. "Always keepin' to 'emselves. Like they's better'n us."

"Anyways, back to what I was sayin'," Christophe interrupted the speaker. "The on'y man that's can get outta anythin' be Jack Sparrow, o' course."

"Jack Sparrow? The pirate that escaped from Norrington again?" the woman spoke. "He always seems to be gettin' away. I'd have been at his execution today but I needed to pack."

"You'd have fainted anyway," Dimitri muttered. The three men laughed.

"You are all fools," Mr. Williams said bluntly from his isolated corner.

"Now, wait just a minute," Billie exclaimed. "I ain't a fool! Why's you goin' callin' us fools for eh?"

"You must be blind," Williams answered. "Did anyone actually go to the execution?"

"I was gonna," Christophe answered meekly. "But it might've turned into my execution had I been seen."

"Does anyone know what Jack looks like?" Williams asked. "Take a good look at this poster."

"Blast it," Jack whispered. "Damn school teacher knows about us. This may not end as well as I hoped."

On the other side of the door, the poster was being passed around.

"What a ghastly looking man," Mrs. Dimitri exclaimed. "And that woman! Why, she's dressed like a boy. Ain't no decency in that."

"Let us see it," Billie said, snatching it from her. "Scarlette Sparrow. See, even Sparrow's got a wench. We need to find ourselves a woman eh boys?"

"We'll need more than one o' course," Geri added, the poster forgotten. Jack opened the door and smiled pleasantly.

"May I see that?" he asked. He snatched the poster away from Geri without waiting for a reply and began to study it. He folded it up and pocketed it, turning so that the schoolteacher was the only one who could see his face. His voice was still cheerful but Ryoko watched his face betray him.

"I think anyone who messes with Jack Sparrow is asking for more than death," he said. The three boys laughed and the woman crossed herself, Dimitri giving her a ludicrous look. The schoolteacher watched Jack and swallowed. He understood perfectly and would probably keep his mouth shut. Probably.

Jack collected his and Ryoko's things and moved them to the room beyond, which was just another bunkroom. He shoved a chair against the door and rigged it so that anyone coming through the door, that managed to get by the chair, would have a glass lantern fall upon his or her heads. He didn't light the lantern and Ryoko mentioned it.

"Fire right?" she asked. "A broken lantern would burn us all."

"Partially," he answered. "More likely, I'm used to not lighting something as precarious as that. It's against the code."

"The code forbids you from lighting lanterns?"

"No. The code prevents me from lighting an unprotected flame. If we mean this to crash upon the conk of intruders, then fire wouldn't be the smartest accompaniment. The whole ship is caulked and swabbed with oil. It'd go up in no time."

"Ah," she nodded. "What else is there to this code?"

He sat on the bunk beside her and gave her a long glance. "I shouldn't do this but I suppose you're already on your way to becoming a pirate anyway due to the events previous to our escape. There are things in the pirating world that prohibit certain activities. We have laws and other such things of the like. There are, for instance, the Articles of Piracy. The first article states that every man aboard will obey the Captain and that he gets one full share of the booty, plus half of everyone else's. The other important characters on a ship such as the Bos'un and Gunner get one share and a quarter. Meaning that the whole crew is left with a quarter of what they had originally looted."

"That kind of sucks," Ryoko pointed out.

"Not if you're me," Jack answered. "It's good being a captain. Anyway, the second article, the article that I most despise for obvious reasons states that if any man keeps a secret from the crew and captain or deserts his ship without permission, he shall be marooned with a pistol, a single shot and powder, and a bottle of water. Barbossa, being the demon that he is, never left me with powder or water. I had to dry my powder and drink rum for three days until my rum runner friends decided to help me out."

"But that wasn't all a bad thing was it?" Ryoko asked. "I mean, you crave rum like I crave chocolate."

He grinned. "You might say that. Article three is the most impatient of the articles. Anyone who steals something worth more than a piece of eight shall be marooned or shot. Article four states that if another pirate, not of the ships crew, defies the articles, they shall be punished as the crew sees fit, meaning if one of Mei Lin or Barbossa's men misbehaved on my ship, we could do whatever we wanted to them."

"They'd deserve it," Ryoko muttered. "Filthy jerks."

"The fifth is an interesting one," he continued. "Any pirate that strikes another while on board will receive punishment by Moses' Law. Moses' Law states that 40 lashes, minus one, will be dealt to the bare back of the offender."

"Why thirty-nine?" Ryoko asked. "Why not forty?"

"Have I had this conversation with you before?"

"I don't think so," she answered with a frown. "I wasn't so drunk I don't remember."

"Ah, right," he sighed. "It was before I'd rescued you. Normally I'd reply with some comment. Ask your friend Claudia later but I'll tell you this time. According to the Bible, Pilate flogged Christ thirty-nine times. Believe it or not, pirates are very Christian. I also recall there being something about Hebrew law and thirty-nine being seen as a just number."

"I've seen Heavy Metal freaks that are more Christian than you are," Ryoko snorted. "Or more so than Barbossa's men. You're not so bad."

He just gave her a look. "Anyways, Article six is one I referred to earlier. One mustn't drop his gun or light an unprotected flame, candle or not, below decks for fear of fire. Article seven is a brutal one. If a man doesn't keep his weapons clean enough to fight adequately or neglect his duties, such as deck swabbing, bilgy duty, etc, he shall be cut from his share."

"Why's that so brutal?"

"You've never been on bilge duty," he pointed out.

"Article eight, if a man loses an eye, pay them 300 pieces of eight, a joint, 400, an arm, 600, a leg, 800 and anything else, you might as well be dead because there are only a few other things that a man could lose and live."

"That isn't in the article," she muttered.

"And how would you know?"

"No one would put that in there," she answered. "It's perverted but I suppose you are a pirate and perversion is a forte."

"You'll never guess what the last article is," he sneered. "Article nine states that any man who touches a woman of decency without her consent will be killed."

"I — really?"

"Why do you think I waited so long to rescue you?"

"Because you were drinking and had what you wanted already, or what you thought you wanted," she answered swiftly.

"Well, that too, but I knew that they wouldn't do anything to you."

"They would have," she exclaimed. "Except that I killed a few and locked myself up in the cabin."

He laughed. "I was right. Anything that tangles with you will come off worst, except for me of course and possibly Elizabeth but both of you seem to be born of stronger stuff than lace and bonnets."

"Try brass and silver," Ryoko muttered.

"Pardon?"

"Never mind," she answered a bit drearily. "I'm not even sure why I said that." The ship tilted to port violently and Ryoko tumbled from her seat and skidded along the wooden floor, her skirts flying. Jack started laughing.

"I'm glad you found that amusing," she snapped, pulling herself to her feet. "Because you're gonna think this is hilarious." She jumped at him, her small hands going around his neck. She surprised him enough that he didn't stop her immediately.

His grabbed her wrists, his dark hands making her look pale by comparison, and slowly pried her fingers off his throat. He was stronger than she was, and it made her angry. He was still sitting on the bed and holding her arms about a foot and a half apart. She tried to kick him but her voluminous dress prevented the event. He laughed and leaned back, causing her to fall forward. He directed her motion with her arms and she fell to the bunk. She started to thrash but he grabbed her arms and pinned them to the bunk, one leg preventing her from kicking.

He was still laughing and she wanted to kill him for it. "Get off," she said very dryly. He just shook his head and tried to keep the smile off his face.

"If I let you up, you'll just attack me again," he answered.

"You'll have to let me up sometime," she pointed out. "Even uncouth pirates like yourself need to sleep."

"Oh, I'll manage," he said nonchalantly. "But I wouldn't fall asleep if I were you."

Her eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

He grinned at her. "Who would stop me?" He moved closer to make his point. She attempted to push him off with her arms but he proved stronger than she'd thought at first. She had better luck with her legs but that changed when he moved his full weight to trap her.

She was getting nervous now. "Remember the ninth article," she stammered. "You can't touch a woman or you'll be put to death."

"First of all," he began. "That's only if anyone knows about it. Second, that's only punishable on _the Pearl_, and third, the law states that if a decent woman is touched I'll be killed, and according to Old Woman Dimitri, you are not a decent woman."

She glared up at him. "I really am going to kill you."

"Not if I kill you first," he retorted.

"You can't kill me," she shot back. "You need me remember. That is, if you want to find your heir."

"Something just occurred to me," he shared. "What if my heir isn't born yet?"

Understanding filled her eyes but her mouth still turned in an angry frown. "And what am I supposed to do about that? Cry and be your slave? Not me, not for anyone, no matter how incredibly suave they may be. Can you get off me now? Please?"

Jack only stared at her and a smiled slowly curved his lips. He let her up and she stood quickly and smoothed down her bodice. She gave him a small glare and retreated to the other bunk. He laughed shortly.

"Any other woman would have slapped me by now," he told her. "That just proves my point of you being more like us than you'd like to admit. You're just like Will."

"The only thing I pirate is music," she admitted, her back to him. "And I don't even do that anymore. I'm a retired pirate and I'm only seventeen."

"You're already seventeen?" he exclaimed. "You're an old maid."

"And how old are you?" she asked. "You aren't married and you're like ... forty." (Obviously, in this fic, Jack Sparrow and Johnny Depp are two separate men, including their ages.)

"Forty? Now why would you go and say something like that? I'm only thirty-one!"

"Oh, and that isn't old?" Ryoko exclaimed. "You're almost twice my age!"

"Only fourteen years, luv," he teased. "Plus, for us men, tis a different scale for age. Most women marry about fourteen if they're lucky and by the time of your age have a child or two and, judging by your size, probably a miscarriage."

"Not everyone is as small as I am," she pointed out. "And to marry that young is ridiculous."

"It's usually not their choice, but their father's," Jack answered. "I suppose it all depends on what the husband's got and how well off he was born. That's part of the reason why pirates like myself go to Tortuga if we're lonely for company. No lass with a smart father will allow his daughter to become the wench of a pirate, well known or not."

Ryoko nodded. "Poor you, eh?"

He shrugged. "I don't mind. Women just get in the way of what needs to be done, complicating everything from placement of articles to sleeping arrangements."

"Not everyone's like that," Ryoko snorted.

"No," he added. "The one's that aren't are all like you, and a pirate couldn't handle something as wild as you."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not," she muttered. She grabbed the traveling bag and retreated to a far corner where she began to change.

"What I don't understand," he began, refusing to avert his eyes. "Is why you're so modest when, first, I've seen everything already more than once, and second, you'll need me to untie the corset anyway?"

"Shut up, Jack," she told him bluntly. "It's a pride thing. I don't expect you to understand."

"Oh, I do," he laughed. "You're stubborn. Why don't you just go without the corset?"

"Because this gluttonous old maid has had a few too many servings of chili cheese fries at Pacific Burger (still in business!) to fit into that dainty dress without the damn corset," she was attempting to reach the strings. Jack had tied them in the morning and the stays were so tight that she had a difficult time moving at all. The only reason she'd been able to attack Jack earlier was that she possessed enough endurance that she had actually forgotten about the whalebone until the subject came to it. Most girls were not as lucky when it came to endurance.

"Here," he said and sighed as he stood. "Hold still, I'll do it."

"No," she answered stubbornly. "I'll just sleep with it on."

"And end up not waking at all," he retorted.

"Don't touch it," she hissed. "If I can't do it myself I might as well not do it at all."

"Are all future women like this?" he asked.

"No," she snapped. "You just got lucky." She reached up behind her, her fingers barely grazing the strings. She tried going over her shoulder but still couldn't reach.

"How do you expect to untie those once you do reach them?" he asked smugly. "I double knotted them. Even if you could reach, you'd need both hands to unknot it."

She glared at him and if looks could kill, no spell could protect the man on the end of her stare.

"Fine," she snapped. She turned her back and crossed her arms in front of her. He walked over, en guard in case she struck out at him. She didn't even turn but shook in anger. He didn't think she was mad at him. He was right. She was mad at herself. He gave a few quick tugs and the laces came undone. She changed with her back to him, no other comment uttered until she was in her dressing gown and robe. She laid upon the bunk across the room and went to sleep.

Jack laughed and made his own bed.

…

About the same time this was happening, _The Poison Dragon _met up with Barbossa's ship. They brought the ships up broadside as close as they could get and not brush hulls. Mei Lin boarded the privateer deck and fixed an evil eye on Barbossa, who was looking paler and paler every time she saw him.

"Jack go to Port. Jack got away. Mei Lin be right when go but you go not there," she was so angry her English was worse than usual.

"So you're saying they were where you went?" he asked.

"Yes. Port."

Belle emerged from behind Barbossa. "She means they were in Port Royal."

"Well why didn't she say so!"

"But Jack not on _Pearl_," Mei Lin added. "Jack and girl escape. _Pearl _gone."

"Of course," Barton muttered. "They've stowed away on another ship."

"There's only one ship that was scheduled to leave Port Royal that day," Belle spoke up. "I know because I was on it when it docked there. An old Barquentine with an insane captain who'll sail through anything. They're either on their way to New Orleans or still in Port Royal."

"They could have left by now," Barton suggested.

"Were you there?" Belle snapped. "I think not. It was fight or flight. I think they're going to New Orleans."

Mei Lin nodded. "Big ship. Three ..." she said a word in Chinese and pointed up at the masts.

"Yeah," Belle asked. "Come here, will you. Look at this." The larger woman sat Mei Lin down at a table and drew up a picture for her. "Which one was it?"

She had drawn two pictures, one of a Barquentine with the foremast and mainmast square rigged, the mizzenmast fore and aft rigged, the second being a Snow, a smaller ship with the two upper masts square rigged and the mizzen with lanteen sails (triangles). Mei Lin pointed to the Bark and Belle cheered, startling the smaller woman.

"They're on their way to New Orleans," she exclaimed. "Too bad we missed Mardi Gras."

The two men looked at her in a slightly embarrassed way but she refused to blush. "Oh, silly boys. Did you expect a woman like me to bend to codes of femininity and other poppycock like that? There ain't no practicality in them things, tiny li'l waists and white hands. Not for me. I wear the pants in my family."

They shrugged and Mei Lin smiled, her slanted eyes sparkling prettily. She wore the pants in her family too, though she hadn't understood the conversation other than "pants" "hands" "boys" "woman" "bend" "family". She also heard the word "poppycock" and that made her ears perk up. What a funny word.

Mei Lin went back to her ship and strangely enough, Belle Watling decided to go with her.

"How 'bout getting her to speak somethin' other than gibberish!" Barbossa exclaimed as Belle waved from the other deck.

He returned and he and Barton took a victim quietly, allowing the dead man to slide over the rail. He made a splash below but Barbossa squeezed a shot into the air at just the right moment. His crew came running, their feet pounding on the wood of the deck.

"How would you boys like to go to New Orleans?" Barbossa shouted, waving one of his arms around in a grand gesture, the other securely resting on the hilt of his cutlass.

"Yahhhh!" they cried, punching their fists into the air. Barton looked nervous surrounded by the crew that was so ecstatic about their new status.

The privateer and _The Poison Dragon _were on their way to New Orleans, carrying a murderer, a bounty hunter, a martial artist, a vampire (or two) and a passel of pirates, English, Chinese, and other nationalities. They, luckily, never were hit by the storm.

…

Sooo . . . It's been awhile, hasn't it. I had no way of continuing the chapter, let alone publishing it. There isn't internet at my school and I've been cut off at home as well. I hope you liked this chapter. It was kinda long and I sort of forgot a character. Nick, you know? He disappeared this chapter. Not that he would have wanted to help Ryoko escape.

Does anyone have a guess at the reason for Gov. Swann's ball? Elizabeth knows about it but no one else but me knows. Go ahead. Take a guess. Winner gets a prize.

Revisited 10-24-06


	7. Chapter VI : To Blackmail a Pirate

Mungojerry; 'Allo ladies and gents. 'Ow are ya today, or tonigh, dependin' on whot toim ya be readin' 'is.

Jack; can't you stick to your own story?

Will Turner; Yes, cat. This is supposed to be my narrative part. You've already had yours.

Mungojerry; S'at roight? Ya gon' make sommat of't?

Will; En guard, beast!

(They start fighting about it while Jack tries to stop it. A sticklike figure comes to the scene.)

Jack Skellington; Well, then. I'll take over where they left off. The usual disclaimer goes without saying. Jack wants you to review her work or she'll eat your children.

M. Jack: Jack! You're not supposed to frighten the readers!

Jack S.; Sorry about that. Where I come from, a quote like that is seen as normal.

Will; And what kind of insane place do you come from where that is normal?

Jack S.; Halloween Town of course.

Mungojerry; He says 'at loik we're supposed ta know't!

M. Jack; Anyways, ignore my fighting narrators. Will was supposed to do this one but Mungojerry got jealous and locked him in the closet. Jack Skellington was supposed to narrate my Labyrinth stories but Mungojerry beat him to that too. I found him in my cupboard (pun intended).

Will; I am surrounded by Jacks!

**Chapter VI –To Blackmail a Pirate is to Court Death**

Captain McLean paled when he saw the black sails and shut his scope with a snap that drew the attention of his assistant, Parker.

"What is it sir?" Parker asked.

"_The Black Pearl_," McLean answered. Parker started laughing uncontrollably.

"There's no such thing as _The Black Pearl_," he scoffed. "And riding out of that storm? No ship that size could survive such a squall."

"I am not joking, Parker," McLean insisted. "Look. See for yourself." Parker adjusted the scope until he caught the image of a ship draped in black. He blinked, brought the scope away from his eye, rubbed both his eye and the lens, and brought it back. There was no mistaking it. _The Pearl _was on the ocean not even a mile from them and it was flying the Roger.

"Is that what I think it is?" Parker asked his captain.

"You mean their flag, I presume," McLean asked. "That it is. The Jolly Roger. They'll be giving no quarter if we resist."

"Let's fill the sails and get out of here!" Parker exclaimed. "I'd rather we ran into the damn French than that ship."

"Nay," McLean answered. "We need to head straight through that squall to escape with the wind and I'm not willing to risk the ship and the crew when the cargo can be sacrificed." He barked an order to the quartermaster and a few minutes later, a white flag was hoisted up the main mast.

McLean's ship dropped anchor and waited for _the Pearl _to come to broadside. Once they were abreast, a plank was lowered to McLean's deck and Anamaria, balanced with a line of pirates, armed and aimed, behind her on the deck. She stepped down on the British vessel and McLean came to meet her.

"Are you the captain of this ship?" she asked. He nodded, his blue eyes full of worry.

"Don't worry too much, lad," she told him. "We'll not be takin' your cargo this time 'round. We need only to ask ye a favor."

"What sort of favor," Mclean asked warily, Parker standing at the ready behind him.

"We've a passenger we'd like you to take on back to Port Royal," she answered.

"How do you know we're going to Port Royal?" McLean asked her. "We could be bound for Tripoli for all you know."

"But ye ain't, are ya?"

"No, but that's beside the point," McLean answered curtly. "If we'd been bound elsewhere, what would have persuaded us to change our course for you?"

"You see that ship behind me?" she asked him pointedly.

"Aye."

"You know what that is? You know who captains it?"

"Aye, that I do."

"And you need more persuasion than that?"

"What sort of passenger will we be taking on?" he asked, changing the subject.

"A girl who has fallen ill and needs to return to land," Anamaria told him, pleased with where the conversation had gone.

"Load her in, then," McLean answered. "As long as it's nothing contagious."

"And how should I know that?" Anamaria exclaimed. She turned on her heel and shouted an order to the crew. A moment later, not Diana, but Claudia was brought out onto the deck. She looked pale and withered, not her usual self, but what did these men know about her normal condition. She was taken down into the sick bay of McLean's ship and left there. The two men who'd carried her emerged from below and paraded back onto the plank. Anamaria stopped them and held her hands out. They hung their heads and handed her things from within their clothing. She smiled and they continued over the plank.

"I believe these are yours," she told McLean, handing him a silver candlestick and a heavily adorned gauntlet. He frowned at her and took them. She grabbed his ear and pulled him down to her height. "Don't be givin' me that look, lad. I could've let them keep your trinkets."

"Why didn't you?" McLean asked out of curiosity.

"Because you be doin' us a favor of takin' the girl to Port Royal and in exchange, we don't loot you."

"Ah, well thank you for that," he answered, rubbing his sore ear. She nodded and crossed the plank. The men pulled it back onto _the Pearl _and weighed anchor. McLean's ship complied and sailed towards Port Royal, altering their course a bit to avoid the worst of the storm. _The Pearl _continued on its way to Isla de Muerta, Diana alone and frightened.

…

Claudia huddled in her dry bunk and coughed horrendously. She had been strong through the storm, helping Diana when she needed it; not sleeping much for fear that Diana would need her in the night. Her fatigue and lack of good food, plus her immune system not up to handling the older strains contributed to her condition.

"Influenza," the surgeon of McLean's ship diagnosed. "My advice is to keep her warm until we reach Port Royal." And so Claudia huddled under a thick covering of blankets and still, she shivered, hoping against everything that she had that the flu was curable in this time period.

…

Meanwhile, back in the Navy, Commodore Norrington sat in his office, his garnished boots crossed on his desk, a stack of parchment before him. He thumbed through the stack tiredly and groaned when he came across a poster. It had been the announcement of Jack and Ryoko (or Scarlette's) execution. He slammed his fist down on the mahogany of the desk and put his feet to the floor.

"How in the world did they escape?" he asked the empty air. He glanced at the large clock, the pendulum swinging impartially. It was almost three o'clock. Will would be arriving at the hour. Sure enough, a few seconds before the shorter hand passed the fancy III, a knock on Norrington's door sounded and the large man stood from his leather chair to answer it.

William Turner, one of the local blacksmiths and a young woman with long brown hair entered the office. Norrington allowed the heavy door to swing shut with a metallic click and motioned for them to be seated.

"Mr. Turner," the commodore began. "Before I begin my quorum on your previous misdeeds we will dispatch with the niceties. Would you or Miss ..." he inserted a pause and the woman added her name.

"Miss Skiles, sir," she answered coolly, looking up with her large round eyes. Norrington hadn't really noticed her until she looked at him and he remarked silently on things normal people might have missed.

Robin Skiles possessed a certain beauty and charm that was hidden from most eyes. Those without the brain capacity to see it rarely did, but once one saw it, it was impossible to un-see it. She had a button nose and round eyes that caught the light in twin pools of moisture and her smile was both enigmatic and seductive. It made one wonder what she was laughing at, as if the watcher was unawares of some obvious error. Norrington, not being a simpleton but not quite possessing a genius strain, was hooked at once, though he might not have even been aware of it.

In fact, he stopped being bitter against Will, unconsciously of course. He was still angry about losing Elizabeth though he would never admit it even to himself. The self-delusion had gone on for long enough that he had convinced himself of his virtue.

He cleared his throat after offering his guests some snacks from a tin tray and Will's back straightened with dread. Norrington laced his fingers together and fixed an analytic eye upon him. Will fought the urge to squirm under the scrutiny.

"Well, Mr. Turner," he began. "How did Jack and his mistress escape?" Norrington was briefly distracted by Robin's laughter, noticing blonde highlights in her hair as she shook her head in mirth. "Am I so amusing, Miss Skiles?" he asked, a slight smile curving his thin lips.

"She would hate that you called her his mistress," Robin told him. "She'd probably kill you."

"Well, self denial of one's occupation usually sparks more of a sting when mentioned than false accusations, now does it not?" he asked her. Will raised an eyebrow at the commodore, thinking a certain wig-wearing oaf ought naught to speak when he had the same troubles.

Robin shook her head smiling. "She's done nothing with him, I assure you. They can't even stand to be in the same room for more than an hour without bickering at each other."

"Unless occupied with some other activity," Norrington said dryly. Will snorted in derisive laughter.

"One should not speak of such things in front of a lady, Commodore," he said lightly which brought Norrington back to business and away from Robin.

"Well, how do you suppose they escaped, Mr. Turner?"

"To be quite honest with you," he began, blinking sheepishly. "I haven't the foggiest. I was held in a cell for that particular event, as per your orders, sir."

"Indeed, Mr. Turner," Norrington agreed. "But the object of their escape, the event I was trying to prevent by placing you in a cell, still took place. What have you to say about that?"

"I am completely innocent of this, sir," he answered sincerely, though Robin knew he was lying. "My wife would kill me if she even suspected me of aiding that wretch." When in doubt, insult Jack. When in doubt and in Norrington's presence, insult Jack and mention Elizabeth. It seemed to work.

"True, Miss Swann would hate to harbor such a man unless she had your safety to gain by doing such a thing."

"You mean Mrs. Turner," Robin corrected. "She and Will are married you know."

Norrington looked at the girl in wonder and pondered the idea that she might be baiting him. "I am aware of that, Miss Skiles." She smiled broadly, revealing dimples and Norrington blanked.

"Very well, Mr. Turner, Miss Skiles," he concluded. "In utter lack of evidence, you may leave, but mark my words Mr. Turner. I'll have that man's head and his woman's if she gets in my way."

"Consider them marked," Robin blurted, remembering the first few lines of the film. Norrington gave her a strange look.

He watched them leave and wondered what had just taken place. He sat in his chair again and poured over his papers, finding a list of potential bounty hunters. He checked a few off, Belle Watling being amongst them. She had come to see him personally after the fiasco of Sparrow's escape before going off to Tortuga to look for them.

Norrington sighed and hoped that this trial would end soon.

…

"Hello! Who's in there? Open up, it's an emergency!"

Jack sat up in his bunk, knocking his head against the wood above him, baffled into surprise. He grunted in pain, rubbing the spot. He noticed vaguely that the ship had ceased its violent rocking and he took it to mean that the storm had passed. He jumped from the bunk and raced to the door, unhitching the lamp and moving the obstinate chair. He opened the door to find a young sailor covered head to toe in water.

"Sir, we need the mattresses," he explained. "The bilge's sprung a leak in the night and we need sommat to soak it up. Our pumps are a little slow."

Jack's eyes widened and he nodded. He understood what they needed. They would bind some of the mattresses of the bunks to the leak in the bilge and instead of spurting into the bilge and creating wood rot; it would soak into the thin feather ticks on the beds. (Tick as in mattress, not tic as in parasite.)

Jack collected all but the ones Ryoko and he had slept on. The sailor thanked him and hurried off. The other passengers had been relieved of their bedding as well, Geri and Christophe sharing, as well as the Dimitri's. Williams had grudgingly agreed to share with Billie though he obviously fought against it. Jack laughed internally at them because he and Ryoko alone had one of their own.

Ryoko, of course, was still dead asleep but Jack, being the mischievous imp he was decided to wake her up. Cold steel did the trick and she was up and swinging at him again.

"I give up," she sighed as she slumped against the wall. "You win. What do you want! I'll do anything, just stop waking me up at the crack of noon every day!"

"Like I said before," he grinned. "You are definitely not like other women."

"That'd better be a compliment," she warned. He shrugged.

He moved from his leaning position above her and brought out the traveling bag. He pawed through it until he found what he wanted. He pulled out the detested corset and looked at her.

"No," she groaned. "Not yet. I don't want that thing on until I absolutely have to wear it."

"What if I told you we were twenty minutes from shore?"

She jumped up. "Really?"

"Turn around," he commanded. She snatched the thing from him and slipped it into position, dropping the gown and standing in a pair of bloomers. He grabbed the laces and yanked so hard she thought she might faint, and she was not a fainting kind of girl. He placed a knee at her back and used it as leverage to keep the stays tight while he knotted the laces. She gasped and moved timidly into the dress. It fit her more loosely than before.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed. "You laced me an inch tighter! No wonder it's so hard to breathe!"

"You talk more commonly than I do sometimes, luv," he pointed out.

"I'm a 24 inch waist in an 18 inch corset! I'm gonna die!"

"One can't be too hopeful."

"Shut up!"

"Would you like to make me, darlin'?"

"A good kick to the groin would cure you of a lot of things, you know," Ryoko threatened. She moved towards him but made a face and slumped to the bed. "Maybe not today." She put a hand to the wall and started breathing deeply. Jack became genuinely worried.

"Did I really lace you that tightly?" he asked. "I can loosen the stays if you'd like. I'd hate for your life to be wasted on whalebone corsets."

"Yeah right," she snorted. She turned so he could get at the back of the dress. She loosened the basque and he let some slack into the stays.

"You know," he whispered behind her. "Most women would never let me get this close to them."

"I'm not afraid of you," she answered. He laughed, sending a shiver up her spine with his breath.

"That is quite obvious, but what do you fear?" he moved his fingers up to her bare shoulders and she was suddenly aware that her basque was undone. She moved to fasten it and a wave of pain went through her abdomen. Damn corset and other womanly problems.

He smiled behind her and she gritted her teeth. He gently massaged a place on her shoulder. If that was all he was going to do, she could live with it but if he were to do anything more she'd have to act accordingly.

Just as she was thinking this, she felt him moving closer and the prickle of his moustache on the back of her neck. She stood so fast it made her dizzy and her ribs ached with the pressing of the corset. She fixed her basque completely and tried not to look at Jack.

Someone cleared their throat at the door. Jack and Ryoko turned to find Billie. Standing there with a slightly amused look on his face.

"You two ain't brotha and sista, are ya?"

"How long have you been standing there?" Jack asked with a cold voice. Billie shook it off.

"Long enough that I'm 'bout ta ask ya for a favor," he answered, hinting at blackmail. It was essential that everyone believe Jack and Ryoko to be related. Jack may not have been willing to comply with the man but Ryoko did not want to lose her life over such a minute favor, for what could the man want? She asked as much.

"Just one of yer mattresses. I noticed you've got one each. Now, I don't want to impose on ya, but I don't want to share with the whiny schoolteacher. Would you mind?"

Ryoko gave him a dry look and about faced on her heel. Jack took that to mean he was to deal with the man.

Jack stood and stalked over to the man, letting a cool light fill his eyes. Billie didn't even flinch. Either he was immune to the look or he didn't take Jack seriously.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Jack spoke calmly, allowing that steely coldness to fill his voice as well. "Mightn't you choose another?"

Billie smiled. "That's all I want right now, sir. If you give it ta me, I'll ne'er botha ya 'gain."

"You won't bother me anyways," Jack threatened. "I'd leave if I were you." Billie's smiled faltered.

"It doesn't matter one bit to me if you tell the whole crew that we're not brother and sister," Jack bluffed. Billie frowned and as he turned to leave, Williams walked in.

"Doesn't anyone ever knock?" Ryoko asked irately.

Williams glared at her and she returned the favor. He shrugged and turned to Jack. "You may not care about a thing like that, but your other secret would push you to agreeing," Williams fixed a very nervous look on Jack. Jack surprised them both by laughing outright, startling Williams into jumping.

"I see," Jack said through his mirth. "It's an agreement you want. Well, here are my terms gentlemen. Listen closely for I shant repeat myself. Take the damn mattress and keep your lips tied or it'll be more than a feather tick you'll lose, savvy?"

Billie, oblivious to the exchange, beamed in delight. Williams swallowed in an audible gulp and nodded, timidly clutching Sparrow's offered hand. He squirmed a bit and Ryoko noticed his knuckles going from white to red as if they had been squeezed a bit too hard.

Billie grabbed one of the ticks and walked out, a spring in his step. He was obviously an idiot but Williams knew their little secret and he'd keep his mouth shut, of this Jack was sure. He just wasn't sure how long that would last. As soon as the ship landed, he'd be sure to blab and then the rumors would fly.

Jack kept his icy gaze on Williams until the timid man left the room. Jack closed the door and turned to Ryoko, a tired look on his face.

"He knows exactly who we are, luv," he pointed out obviously.

"You can't blame this one on me," she told him, careful to school her eyes. "It was none of my doing. You're more infamous than I am and the other guy wouldn't have said anything had you not been being your obnoxious self a few minutes ago."

"My obnoxious self, eh?" he asked coolly. "As if you moved right away? Perhaps he wouldn't have seen what he had, had you moved earlier, that is."

She laughed at him. "Oh, no. Not my fault. No way! Don't even try to pin this on my shoulders. You've no support whatsoever."

He shrugged. "Maybe you're right," he said indifferently. "But we need to be more careful. We can't leave this room unless it's a complete ... necessity."

"It doesn't matter," Ryoko said cheerfully. "You said we were only twenty minutes away, right? We're almost rid of him anyways."

The silence between them was a very pregnant pause.

"What's wrong, Jack?" she asked, her eyes darkening. "What did you do?"

"Well, you know how hard it is to wake you," he began. "And you refused to get dressed as well so ..."

She sighed and sat down in disbelief. "You lied? You mean we're still stuck on this ship?" her eyes were large and glistening and he felt a pang of fear. He could take anger or even cool indifference but if she started to cry, he was through. He could not stand tears, even from a woman like Ryoko, or more accurately, especially.

He knelt near her and pleaded. "Please don't cry. I didn't mean to upset you this much. I'm sorry, truly." '_Just don't cry_!' he added internally.

He heard something that didn't fit into the situation. A slight burst of laughter. He looked up at her and found she was amused with him. Before he could stand, she'd pushed him over onto his back and sat on him.

"Don't cry?" she asked him and he looked grimly up at her. "Who do you think I am? I never cry." '_If I can help it_,' she added silently, staring down into his brown eyes. She laughed at him, and it wasn't like a girl's giggle. It was deep and throaty. "Methinks I won."

He smiled slowly. "There'll always be a time for revenge, luv. Just remember that."

"No way!" she exclaimed. "This is my revenge. We're even now!"

"Do you honestly believe me to be that much of a pushover?" he asked her, his eyebrows rising.

She laughed. "You don't seem to be up to much retaliation at the moment."

He gave her another of those sly smiles and sat up abruptly, sending her sliding down towards his legs. She knew that she had been had and tried to roll off him as quickly as the corset would permit but his arms came up and caught her before she could clear. He stood in one fluid motion, holding her in his arms.

Perhaps the fact that she was utterly surprised kept her from clawing his eyes out or that she was momentarily winded from the corset's restraints. Whatever the case, Jack Sparrow somehow survived carrying the wildest woman in the time period in his arms.

He staggered under her added weight and sat down on the bunk with the mattress. She still didn't fight and he began to wonder what had happened. He looked at her and was surprise to find her face wistful.

"I really wish you were Johnny Depp," she told him. "Or someone else." A cheerless look came over her face and Jack was confused again. Anger and coy indifference he understood but the emotions that played across her features puzzled him. Her mind was far away from the situation.

This hadn't been the reaction he wanted out of her and when she turned to him, he wasn't sure what would happen next. "Can I get down now?" she asked candidly. He opened his arms without a word and she stepped lightly down from her seat on his knees. She opened the door and left, silent but for the swishing of skirts.

"Women," he grunted to the empty room. "The obscurity of the Universe."

…

"This is boring," Nick grumbled. He'd been making nails for about three hours and his hands were blistered and raw. He had been thrilled when they had been sucked back in time, thinking he'd get to live a life worth living instead of his boring one.

He had pounded a head on his umpteenth nail when he heard a clatter of heels on the cobblestones and the tinkling of feminine chatter. He perked his head up when two women peeked in the door.

"Hello," the brunette began. "Is this Mr. Turner's shop?"

"Yeah, hold on," Nick sighed. "I'll go get him."

"No, no," the other woman told him. "It's quite all right. We'll speak with you." Her hair was a strawberry blonde, bordering on orange.

Nick looked warily from one to the next. "About what?" He took in their clothing, which was very expensive looking, but a bit too bright for daywear. Their basques were quite low, showing off white chests with impressive cleavage. Nick didn't fail to notice that their waists were tiny and their skirts voluminous, accenting their shape.

"We understand that the Turner's have been harboring Jack Sparrow," the brunette said.

"They had," Nick answered tiredly. All the girls wanted Jack. It wasn't fair. He was a smelly pirate and he was always drunk, though Nick admitted he would have traded places with him any day. "Jack was set to be executed but escaped. He isn't here. Sorry to disappoint you, now if you don't mind, I have more nails to make."

They giggled at each other and whispered for a few seconds. The strawberry blonde spoke next.

"We know about the execution. I suppose the reason we came here was to get news of him, or really to ask a question. Who is Scarlette Sparrow?"

"Oh, her," Nick grunted. "That would be my sister."

"Your sister?" they gasped. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nick Maxwell, the blacksmith's apprentice," he groaned tiredly.

"Maxwell? Then he is married!"

"How could he do this to us?"

"What do you mean "us"? You know he liked me better than you?"

"What? You wish, my dear. It was clearly me he liked better."

"Why you—"

"Hey!" Nick shouted, surprising the girls as they tried to strangle each other. "Jack isn't married to my sister. There was a mistake. While they were in jail, Norrington decided to be funny and gave her a new name because she wouldn't give her own. Her name is Ryoko Maxwell. No one in his right mind would want to marry her. She's crazy, she eats a lot, she's stronger than most guys I know, she's got a Napoleon complex, she hates wearing dresses or makeup, and she's a complete wild card."

Rather than cheer the two women, their faces fell. "What's wrong?" Nick asked incredulously.

They glanced at each other and the brunette answered him. "Jack prefers stronger women. He says they adapt better to his sort of life. That's why Anamaria sticks around _the Pearl_. And as for no one in his right mind marrying your sister, Jack is mad and he's a wild card himself."

Nick sighed. "You couldn't understand. You've never met my sister."

"No, but we saw her," the strawberry blonde answered. "She was dressed like Jack but you could tell that she'd be a rival to any of us once in proper clothing."

The brunette squeaked and motioned to her friend. "Madame will be angry at us. It's been almost twenty minutes since we left." She looked back to Nick. "I'm Sara and this is Nicolette." She extended her hand and much to her perturbation, Nick shook it instead of kissing it like anyone else might have done in his time. The girls left and Nick hadn't the vaguest clue that they had come from the local . . . gentlemen's club.

Will came in about half an hour later and told him he was done for the day. Nick cheered and put away his nails, washed his hands, grimacing as the water stung his callouses, and tramped up to the house for dinner.

…

The privateer and _The Poison Dragon _were sailing hard towards New Orleans when they came across another privateer. Barbossa had intended to, for once, ignore the ship and continue but _The Poison Dragon _with its four gun decks, fell on the privateer with ruthless cunning, capturing up to twenty men and killing the rest. The rations were transported onto the Chinese deck and then the powder magazine was set on a fuse. As the two ships were sailing away, half the prisoners on Barbossa's ship and half on the other, the vessel exploded in a shower of wood and other debris that littered the surface of the water for about a mile around.

Barbossa stood on the deck, illuminated by a spill of moonlight and shouted to the other ship. "Did we have to do that? We've lost at least a few hours and in this game, every second counts." Mei Lin just laughed at him while Belle watched from behind her.

Barbossa sighed and tramped below to the prisoner deck. They had never reset the door Jack had unhinged and all ten or so men were crammed into one cell.

Barbossa looked at each of the men in turn and posed a question. "Who will be the first volunteer to be impressed into my crew?"

None of the men moved at first but as Barbossa looked at them, a few stepped forward. He chose one of them, it did not matter which, and led him out of the cell. The other men did not attack. They merely stood. Barbossa screamed of power and unsaid authority. None dared to move.

The sailor followed Barbossa up to his cabin. Barbossa closed the door and gazed at the young man.

"Thank you for volunteering to be the first," Barbossa told him.

"The first to what?"

"The first to die!"

…

Well sated, Barbossa walked on the deck of his ship and looked out into the water, the ripples breaking the moon's reflection into a thousand moving pieces of silver light. He noticed the waves being cut here and there by opaque triangles made of millions of tiny, rough, denticles. The sharks had been following the privateer deck for days on end. Barbossa thought he had shaken them in the storm but a day later, they had re-emerged to follow silently in the wake of the ship. They knew that a body or two a night would be tossed. The crew knew something was amiss but didn't dare say a word for fear of their captain.

Barton came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. Barbossa turned to him in question.

"We cannot feed on the crew any longer," Barton told him.

"There are prisoners below," he told the other man. "I had one earlier. Now _las tiburóns_ are feasting."

Barton shook his head. "You may feed on the prisoners and ruin our position. As for me, I'll dine on the rats."

Barbossa chuckled. "You do that, Barton. No one ever benefited from going cold turkey but in our case, you ridding the ship of rats like Whittington's cat will be a good thing."

Barton glared but said nothing, disappearing below decks.

Barbossa sighed. "Sparrow, I be breathin' down yer neck and neither you nor your wench'll escape this time."

…

Diana cheered when Gibbs told her that _the Pearl _had berthed. She even hugged him, which sent the old pirate into a stuttering spell. She happily skipped off the ship and into a little dinghy that was sent to shore.

She was free to explore the cave while the crew checked the hull for damages and she had a ball, climbing over the mountains of treasure and trying on bangles of all sorts. She slowly made her way to the top of the hill and sat near the chest, looking at a violently jeweled slipper. It seemed to fit her almost perfectly and she began to search for the match.

The crew of _the Pearl_ had slowly begun to spend their great treasure. The only reason Barbossa's men had left it in the cave was because of their curse. It had rendered them needless. They couldn't drink, eat, or curb their lust appetites, so money had no use except to fix the ship once in a while. The ship itself bore irregular properties however and so the money stayed in the cave. It was their version of a bank. Rarely did pirates actually bury their treasure. It was not practical unless they knew they were about to die and wanted none of their riches to go to the wrong hands.

She was looking around the base of the stone chest when a screeching right above her head startled her into jumping. Jack the monkey was perched upon the chest with the matching slipper in his little black paws. He chattered at her, giving one of his cute little monkey smiles.

"Let me have that," she told him He cocked his head to the side and blinked as if he was trying to understand. She held out her hand but the monkey only jumped up and down. She stood and lunged towards Jack but he scampered off. As she tried to follow, her hip knocked the lid of the chest off and it hit the ground with a crash. She was hot on the monkey's trail, intent on getting the slipper. Jack bounced off the walls like a piece of rubber and never let her get too close.

He backtracked to the chest hopping into the coins. He sat there holding the slipper in his little paws and laughing at her with his chittering little chuckle. She bent and picked up a chalice and aimed carefully. Throwing the cup, she cheered as it sailed close enough to Jack to scare him off the slipper. She seized it happily and struggled down the mountain of treasure, not all the sound of falling gold coming from her feet.

…

Elizabeth Turner stood in her room humming happily to herself. She was gazing in her mirror and trying out a new hairstyle she'd seen in the fashion books in town. She was surprised to hear the doorbell ring. Since the butler was ill today, she hurried down the large staircase and opened the door. On her doorstep was a man she'd only seen a few times, one of them at her own wedding. He was a friend of Will's and a sailor.

"Hello, sir," she greeted. "What brings you to my home? Will is in town today if you need to speak to him."

"No Ma'am," he said. "I'm here to call on Miss Talbott."

"Oh, really? Does she know you?"

He smiled. "I hope she remembers me. Would you tell her David is here?"

Elizabeth ushered him in and bade him to sit. He did so and she went to fetch Lizzy.

Lizzy and Robin were in the garden chatting about things that made no sense to anyone but them.

"Definitely a _poisson_," Lizzy commented.

"More like a ... how do you say yak in French?"

"Yak? Where do you see a yak?"

"Excuse me ladies," Elizabeth interrupted. "There is a visitor for Miss Talbott."

"For me?" Lizzy exclaimed, looking back down to earth as opposed to in the sky. "Who could it be?" She stood and ran off towards the house. Elizabeth sat next to Robin.

"So, what's the big secret?" Robin asked her. Elizabeth blushed in surprised and shook her head, the curls in her hair springing lively.

"I shan't say yet," she answered. "My father would hate it if I spoiled the surprise. Not even Will knows." She smiled and sighed as she said Will's name.

Robin laughed. "Would you really have married the commodore?"

Elizabeth was caught unawares and looked shocked at such a question. "How do you know this about me?"

"I'm from the future, remember? I know all about what happened to you guys."

Elizabeth shrugged, still managing to make the gesture well mannered and apt.

"At that moment, I would have done anything for Will's safety. I might even have said yes to that pirate creature."

"Jack?"

"Yes," Elizabeth answered.

"Why are you so mean to him?" Robin asked. "He saved your life twice and aided in saving it a third time. Have you no gratitude towards him?"

"He may have saved my life and Will's as we did his," she began. "But I cannot forgive him of that night on the island."

"Nothing even happened!" Robin exclaimed, slapping her knees hard enough to sting. "All he did was put his arm around you!"

"And what would he have done had he not been drunk into unconsciousness?" Elizabeth retorted. "Had his way with me, I'm sure."

"Oh, don't flatter yourself," Robin snapped. "You're the one who put that into his head by getting all cozy with him in the first place."

"Are you implying that I applied myself to Jack Sparrow?"

"I'm not implying it. I'm straight out saying it," Robin answered bluntly. "And I don't think it's fair for you to be so hateful towards him. Pirates have feelings too."

Elizabeth stood. "Talk of sentimental fiends tires me. I will be in my room if you need anything, Miss Skiles." And with that, she was gone, stepping lightly on the paved stones of the garden.

"Bitch," Robin muttered under her breath.

…

Lizzy entered the house quietly, listening for sounds of the living. She slipped off her shoes and left them at the door, padding as silently as she could manage. She peeked around the door and caught sight of the man in the parlor. For a moment her heart soared and then she realized who it was.

"David?" she asked. He looked up and his face seemed so like one she'd left in the 21st century it made her heart pound and heat rush to her face. He was basically DJ, her boyfriend. He looked exactly like him, with the exception of having longer hair and a darker complexion.

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles and her mind went blank. Was it reincarnation or some evil trick of the devil's?

He looked up from her hand and smiled. "I had to see you again, I wasn't sure why. Did you feel the same?"

She was thoroughly surprised but she realized with a jolt that she _had_ wanted to see him again. She couldn't explain it other than he reminded her of DJ.

He offered his arm. "Would you like to walk with me?"

She nodded eagerly and slipped her shoes back on. She took his offered arm and they exited the estate, the cloudy day becoming brighter in each other's company.

They walked down by the old bridge and on towards the very Western end of Port Royal. Lizzy noticed the ground begin to change beneath her feet and she wondered if they were heading towards the beach.

They reached almost to the end of the town and David stopped and pointed out to sea. "Do you see it?"

"See what?" she asked, squinting towards the water.

"Look at the water closest to land. See how it has a strange sheen to it? As if something's below it?"

"Okay," she answered. She could vaguely see what he was talking about.

"There's a limestone reef under all that water. We're right on a plate," he told her.

"You mean as in an earthquake could happen?"

"One did, about fifty years ago. Port Royal used to stretch for another mile or so in that direction but it's been reclaimed by the sea. The stories about it are horrendously frightening. A lady like you might not want to hear them."

"Tell me!" Lizzy squealed in excitement, surprising David. He smiled and leaned against a palm tree that had been bent almost prostrate by the wind.

"Well, I believe the year was 1692, 93, something like that. I'm not very good about dates. The first thing you need to know to understand the predicament was about forty years prior. A hurricane had blown through and somehow, Port Royal had been separated from the rest of Jamaica but a sort of trench that had been filled with rocks and other such debris to attempt to reconnect the two lands.

"All around Port Royal were these old reefs turned to limestone that had a covering of sand over them. The sand was usually firm enough to walk on but occasionally it would become so saturated with water from the ocean that it would loose its firmness.

"One such time that this occurred had been in 1692. Several people had been walking on the sand or been near it when the water rushed in. They basically sank into it. Now, had the water stayed, they could have gotten out from it, but the water rushed out as quickly as it had washed in and they were left half buried in the sand. Other accounts say that the ground seemed to have magically turned to water beneath them or that great holes had opened up, both people and buildings dropped into it.

"Now, the ground began to move and the earthquake hit the town hard, breaking apart the stone settlements, the wooden ones surviving better. The plate is less than five miles away of course and the poor town was devastated. What's worse, a tidal wave hit it right after the quake, killing the people who'd been trapped in the sand and even breaking off the cemetery, taking it into the sea."

Lizzy's eyes had gotten wide with the tale and she looked out to the ocean, wondering if the event would reoccur. She solemnly hoped not, or at least not while she and her friends were here.

"To make things even worse," David continued. "The spit of land that had been hastily reconstructed to bridge Jamaica and Port Royal back together had either broken apart again or been submerged beyond help and Port Royal could receive no help immediately from the mainland."

"How many people died?" she asked innocently.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "But in the first few minutes of the tidal wave, it's said that almost two thousand perished by drowning."

Lizzy swallowed. Things that happened in history class never caught her attention because she felt so distant from them. She had vaguely heard about the quake in one of her classes but it hadn't been on the test and she'd forgotten about it until that moment. She remembered her teacher speaking of salvage crews pulling old and new bodies alike from the water and she shivered. She was a part of this history now.

"Are you cold?" he asked her gently. She nodded and he took his coat and draped it around her shoulders. She clutched it about her but her mind was still fifty years back, in the quake.

"I didn't mean to shake you so much," he apologized. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she answered. "I'm the one who asked about it."

"Let's start back," he suggested. She nodded quietly and they began to walk back. The sky was growing cloudier by the minutes and the storm that had hit both _the Pearl_ and the Barquentine had moved into Port Royal.

They had to step into an alcove to allow a wagon pulled by a donkey to pass and the closeness of David made her look up at him. He looked so much like DJ it was hard to remember that he wasn't her boyfriend. He smiled down at her and she giggled.

Before they reached the Turner estate, he turned to her and she stopped. He smiled nervously at her and began to speak. "Governor Swann is holding a ball in two weeks time. I would be honored if you would allow me to escort you."

She smiled outright and blushed deeply. "Of course you can." she answered. He nodded happily and escorted her the rest of the way to the door.

She waved at him as he disappeared down the road.

…

Governor Swann spoke to his servants in a light voice of the benefactor. He was instructing them on the decorating for the upcoming ball and he was very clear that nothing should go wrong or his anger would be unleashed. One of the girls giggled. Gov. Swann was as spineless as a worm when it came to punishing his servants.

The doorbell rang and he listened and motioned for quiet as the butler opened it. There was a summons for the master of the house and Governor Swann sighed. "Stay here, girls. I'll return to instruct you further." He hurried from the room and walked grandly down the staircase to the parlor.

What he met made him pale. There was a man sitting in his parlor with his neat brown hair in a thin plait, his red frock coat brilliant in the afternoon light. Though he hadn't seen the man in at least ten years, Governor Swann knew exactly who he was and exactly why he'd come.

The man turned upon hearing the older man's gasp and smiled coldly, his clear blue eyes reflecting the light from the window. "Weatherby Swann. I never expected to find you as Governor of this little hellhole. What positions you've aspired to."

"Darren Tavington," Governor Swann stated, masking the fear in his voice. "It's been quite awhile."

"That it has," Tavington agreed.

"To what reason do I merit this visit," Swann asked, trying to sound merrily inquisitive and failing.

"You know why I'm here," Tavington answered coldly. "Where is Elizabeth?"

"She is in London," Governor Swann lied quickly. "She shall return in two weeks. Until then, you may stay in my household as a guest if you wish."

"I accept your offer," Tavington answered. "And two weeks from now, we will bargain again."

Governor Swann nodded. Tavington stood and bowed, keeping his eyes on Swann. "I shall go down to the quay and bring up my things. I will return in about an hour. Adieu."

With that, the mysterious man left and Governor Swann swallowed in fear.

{FLASHBACK}

"_Mr. Swann?" a younger Tavington asked. "I have something to speak to you about."_

_ "Yes?" Swann asked, his wig a dark brown instead of grey. "What is it?"_

_ "Your daughter grows lovelier each day I see her," Tavington began. "Has anyone asked for her yet?"_

_ Swann's mind began racing. He had been putting off the subject of his daughter's wedding from his mind. She was still his little girl and he'd be damned if he had to give her up so soon. Especially to Tavington._

_ "No, none have asked for her as of yet but a few have shown interest," Swann answered truthfully. He had noticed that Lieutenant Norrington had seemed to begin to show interest as well as the blacksmith's apprentice, young Will Turner. There were a few others but none so prominent in his mind as these two. _

_ "I would be honored if you would consider me for her husband, Mr. Swann," Tavington told him. "I understand that she is too young now but when she comes of age, remember me, please."_

_ Swann had no intention of giving his daughter to Tavington. For one, it was rumored that he was a sadist and several cases of abused whores had been tied to his name and secondly, his father had been a pirate and he, a bastard, born to a well to do woman in Bristol. _

_ He had been the product of a pirate raid that had ended too late and he'd never seen his father. His mother had never spoken of him and the only reason Tavington or anyone found out had been the black stable hand who'd trembled in the shadows as his mistress was taken by the dirty pirate. The only thing that had saved her from being killed had been the stable hand and for this reason, he still lived to tell the tale. _

_ In fact, Mr. Swann would have rather her marry her childhood friend Will Turner, who lacked a background completely than marry the pirate's bastard Tavington. Of course, he couldn't tell him this. Tavington was known for his harsh temper._

_ Swann needed to tell him something that would keep him away until Elizabeth could be safely married, hopefully to Norrington. _

_ He cleared his throat, hoping some idea would come to him. He shook his head when he couldn't come up with anything._

_ "It's my lineage, isn't it?" Tavington sneered. "No one wants to dirty their family with that of a pirate, no matter that I never knew him at all." his father, of course._

_ "Fine, Mr. Swann," Tavington answered. "I will leave and become a man more fitting to your tastes. When I return, your daughter will find me a man fit to marry." And if she doesn't, I'll take it out on you, the unspoken words told him. Tavington's eyes made that devastatingly clear. He left the house quickly, slamming the door._

{END FLASHBACK}

And now he was back to claim Elizabeth, who was consequently married to Will Turner. Governor Swann hurried outside and had the stable hands ready his carriage. He needed to find Norrington.

…

Darkness fell like a weight over the Barquentine and Ryoko shivered. The ship was scheduled to land sometime in the next two days and she was glad. She was tired of hiding and tired of wearing the damn corset and everything else. She wanted real food and a real bed.

In fact, all she wanted at the moment was sleep. She asked Jack to untie her early and he had done so without questions. They had been rather distant since that morning and it was making her kind of nervous. She slipped into her dressing gown, robe, and lay down in the bunk, getting as close to the wall as possible, keeping her back to the room.

She wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep but she heard distantly the click of the door as Jack exited the room. She fell deeper into sleep and began to dream.

She dreamt of her school and other things that had to do with her life in the 21st century. At one point, she though of a person she knew. Suddenly, the tears began and she was crying. She may not have been aware that she was for surely, had she been awake she would have kept the tears at bay.

Unconsciously, she felt suddenly warmer and strangely comforted. She felt safe, as if nothing could harm her but underneath this security, she still felt afraid. She wasn't afraid of pirates, vampires, or physical things, but she was afraid of emotion and she knew that nothing in the world but distance could keep one safe from that.

As she shook and cried, she became aware of her surroundings, slowly coming out of her sleep. She was cradled in Jack's arms, her face pressed into his shoulder, the warmth of his body calming her screaming mind. He was whispering something like "It's all right, don't cry," repeatedly into her hair.

"Jack?" she asked softly. He looked down at her, his face serious for once. He wasn't laughing at her and she wasn't angry with him. "What are you doing?"

His eyes fell. "I'm sorry. I was only trying to comfort you."

"It's all right Jack," she told him. "I'm, not mad at you. I just didn't expect to wake up there." She sat calmly in his arms and didn't struggle. She could tell that it was very late because she heard no sounds from the next room and the air just held a certain weight that came in the wee hours of the morning.

"You haven't been to sleep yet have you?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"I've been abroad; making sure that Williams has kept our little secret to himself. Apparently, he has or we'd not be here right now. What were you dreaming that made you cry?"

"I can't remember," she lied. She climbed off his lap and back into her spot on the bunk. Again, she moved as far as she could towards the wall. Listening to the rush of the water on the hull far below where she slept. She began to drift off to sleep again as she listened to the crush of the waves and the rustling of Jack's movements.

In fact, she was so far under that when Jack slid into the bunk beside her, she almost didn't notice it. She understood vaguely that he was pressed to her back and his arm was around her waist but her mind was drowning on her own fatigue and it just didn't matter much at the moment.

Jack was so surprised when she did nothing to dislodge him that he almost said something but thought better of it. He relaxed against her and allowed himself to fall asleep, his arm securely around her waist.

…

She awoke the next morning, strangely early, for her anyway. She sighed against the blackness of her eyelids and stretched out her legs, basking in the warmth. She froze suddenly, realizing that something was wrong.

She felt a weight on her waist and could distinctly feel a line of warmth along her back. She straightened up a bit more when a breath from someone lightly moved her hair. She didn't scream or move for fear of alerting the person behind her but it was too late. A fine tremor went through the dark arm about her waist and she felt the strong chest behind her fill with air. She turned slowly as if in a horror movie to come face to face with Jack Sparrow.

His dark eyes filled with humor and his mouth spilled into his usual grin, decorated with gold. A violent blush crawled up into her face and her eyebrows furled in the center of her forehead. They had forgotten the night before and were back to their old games of torturing each other.

"What a horrible sight to wake up to," she said indifferently. He grinned some more and pulled her closer, sliding another arm under her neck and shoulders. The routine had begun. Jack would do something to get a rise out of her and she would insult him as best she could. This occurred to her and once she thought of it, she was determined to thwart him.

She shrugged as well as she could in her position and propped herself up on one elbow. He laughed at her and she wondered why but who knew with Jack. He was weirder than she was. His hand at her waist became very solid and the other curved strongly around her shoulders, aiding him in bringing her right up against his chest. She schooled her face into one of complete indifference and laughed inwardly as she watched confusion fly across his face.

"Well, since you don't mind that," he whispered. "I'll take it as encouragement."

Warning bells sounded in her mind but she ignored them. She only shrugged again, gritting her teeth.

Jack knew exactly what she was doing and he knew exactly how to push her over the edge but he didn't want to do anything she wouldn't forgive him for later. He ran down a list of things that would send her flying and only a few came to mind that were appropriate. He smirked and watched her green eyes widen. '_You asked for it_,' he thought.

The first thing that happened that made her realize she might have gone too far in ignoring him was the hand at her waist, which was no longer … at her waist. He had moved it up to her shoulder and that distracted her from other things. He threw one leg over hers, which pinned them more effectively due to the dressing gown that covered them.

By the time she realized this and tried to move her arms, he'd pulled the front of her against him, pinning them. He kept her there with his left arm. The right, the one that had been at her waist before, he moved up to her face and watched as realization filled her eyes.

"You're trapped again, luv," he pointed out, and that she was.

Her face remained calm but her mind was running a million miles a minute. What should she do? She couldn't push him off, he'd seen to that. She couldn't yell at him or he'd figure out her plan. He already knew of course, but she didn't realize that. She decided to continue with the plan until her nerves couldn't stand it any longer. She smiled sweetly at him.

He laughed softly. "You really think I don't know what you're up to?" Before she could answer, he used his hand to turn her face up and closed the distance between them until there was but an inch of space. He smiled broadly, as her eyes widened in fear.

"What do you mean?" she asked, careful not to move any closer. His hand held her in a vice like grip but it wasn't necessary. She was frozen by her own fear as well.

He smiled. "You can't trick me, luv. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

She had a moment to breathe before he made that inch disappear. He expected her to struggle or do something of that sort but she completely froze.

He released her at the same time he moved away from her, rolling off the bunk in one fluid motion in case she broke out of her stupor.

"_Captain Jack Sparrow_," she whispered from the bunk. He glanced over and smirked at her. "You are going to die now." She said this all in a blunt way, no emotion, her eyes closed. She swung her small feet to the floor and stood. She opened her eyes and they flashed angrily at him.

As if a switch had been thrown, she burst into a dash that ended with him against the wall and she in front of him, her small hands bundled in the cloth of his shirt.

He could feel her small strength and knew why she was angry. He could see that her pride would not allow her to be bested in any way and if she lost something, she'd keep trying until she won. She'd tried to outsmart him by acting nonchalant at his advances and it had gotten her in deeper than she'd wanted to go. Now she would pound him into the wall. She wasn't really angry with him for kissing her, more at herself for letting it happen.

Jack tried not to smile but her fury was just so funny. He grasped her thin wrists and forced them away from his chest, spinning her until she was pinned against the wall instead of him.

"Is that fair?" he asked her. "You could have kicked me out before I did that but you tried to get the best of me. It was self defense."

"Self defense my ass," she exclaimed, pushing at him. "You just wanted to embarrass me!"

"Don't tell me part of you didn't enjoy that," he retorted. She opened her mouth to say something else and shut it almost as quickly.

"Ahh," he said before she slapped him. He jerked his head in the direction of her blow and allowed the sting to die before he faced her again. "I'm sure I deserved that."

She snorted but smiled. "I feel much better now."

"Now that you've given me face a whack? I hope you do, otherwise I might not stand for such treatment."

"And what would you do?" she asked smiling cockily.

"I could always 'embarrass' you again," he grinned, leaning into her.

"Don't you dare," she growled, her smile disappearing. The door opened and they jumped. Williams entered and closed the door behind him. He took in the scene, Ryoko in her dressing gown and Jack holding her against the wall and nodded as if he expected it.

"Jack and Scarlette," he began. "Unless I am very mistaken."

"You're not, but continue before you _become _mistaken," Jack growled.

"We've landed," Williams answered. "We're about to dock in New Orleans. I just thought I'd come and tell you."

"You mean warn us?" Jack cracked. Ryoko's face brightened and she actually leapt into Jack's arms, hugging him. He was so surprised he nearly fought her. She let him go and walked over to Williams. He gave her a wary look but sighed in relief when she extended her hand. They shook and as he was turning to leave, she tapped him on the shoulder. As he turned to look at her, she let fly with a punch, hitting him squarely on his jaw.

"No one blackmails me," she told his unconscious body. She dragged him over to the bunk and Jack helped her lift him onto it.

"I'd like to turn you lose on King George," Jack muttered. They tied him to the bunk and left him there. Ryoko quickly got into her clothing, Jack lacing her up again. She bundled her hair up and stuck on the long forgotten bonnet, also braiding Jacks hair as quickly as she could manage. Jack grabbed the travel bag and Ryoko, the parasol, and they exited the room, closing the door on Williams, who was still unconscious.

They stepped up to the inspector who wouldn't let anyone who looked to be diseased on to land. He peered into their eyes, had them cough for him, and diagnosed that they were both clear.

Jack froze as he heard shouting. He turned back to find Williams and three officers shouting. "Jack Sparrow! It's him and the girl!"

He looked at Ryoko and grabbed her hand, running down the gangplank to the dock. She stumbled numerous times, not accustomed to the change in ground below her, the shoes not helping much either.

Jack ran, on and on without stopping, dragging her along at breakneck speeds until he reached a building. He glanced up at the name and entered, pulling her along. She was breathing heavily and that gave him an idea. He bent to her ear and told her to listen.

"We're about to do a bit of acting. Play along and don't get mad." She nodded. He bent and picked her up beneath the knees and back. She was already breathing hard and Jack didn't have to explain that to her.

He stepped up to the clerk at the desk, Ryoko closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at the man. She wasn't sure she could lie that well. Jack began to talk rapidly.

"Hello, sir. Can you give us a room quickly? My wife is sick and needs to lie down! Please!" Ryoko gritted her teeth but played along. No wonder he told her not to get mad at him.

The man looked at him blankly. « _Je ne parle pas anglais_, » he spoke. Ryoko groaned. Jack had already said he couldn't speak French. She opened her eyes and looked at the man.

He was a bald old man that reminded her of the monopoly guy. « _Je suis malade. Nous besoin un salle s'il vous plait. __Vite ! _» He nodded and began quickly looking through his desk. He came up with something and motioned for Jack to follow. He did and the man ran up the stairs. Jack stopped at the bottom.

"Can you walk?" he asked, acting the part.

"I'll try," she answered, allowing him to put her feet on the ground. She gripped his arm and they struggled up the stairs, Ryoko trying not to laugh. She was only pretending to be weak and sick and it was a very trying role for her. She hated being weak. When they cleared the steps, however, she schooled her face and leaned more heavily on Jack. He put and arm around her waist to help her.

«_Voici le cle_, » the monopoly man told her and handed her a key. He pointed at a door and Jack unlocked it. The monopoly man waved and went back down the stairs. Once Jack had closed the door and locked it, they burst into laughter.

"That was close," Ryoko gasped. "Holy shimatta! I think I'm gonna die."

"Don't get too relaxed just yet," Jack muttered, listening at the door. "Damn, French. Why me?"

Ryoko sighed in relief. "At least the worst is over. What about Williams and the crew?"

Jack groaned. "Norrington will know in a week or two where we are. He'll be slow to come here, however. This is battle territory, being a French colony. It's surprising that dock was so deserted. First thing's first. We are getting out of these clothes. I know a woman in town who has some stuff of mine and I'm sure she'll have something for you."

"Great, but how are we going to get down there?" she asked. "The monopoly guy isn't going to be fooled for long."

Jack thought for a moment. "I've got an idea. I'll go down and talk to him, getting him to follow me and then you sneak out when he's not looking. I'll get rid of him somehow and meet you outside."

"Jack," she stated. "You don't speak French. How are you going to occupy him?"

"I'll manage," he answered. "How do you say 'follow me'?"

"_Suivez-moi_," she answered.

"Got it. Sweevey muah."

Jack and Ryoko exited the room, Ryoko waiting at the top of the stairs. Jack would shout something in English when he was ready for her to leave. He stepped quickly down the stairs. He located the monopoly man and began to speak to him. His words were inaudible and Ryoko crossed her fingers, hoping he knew enough to get the man away from the desk.

"Monkey!" Jack shouted. That certainly was English and Ryoko ran down the stairs, not stopping until she was outside. She rested against the wall and caught her breath.

She watched the street warily, taking in the wrought iron railing that was everywhere, the beautiful bougainvillea that climbed them and the solid ground as opposed to the deck of the ship she'd been on for so long. It wasn't that long as voyages went but it had been long enough.

Jack came out the door and immediately gripped her arm, steering her down the street. "I thought you said it meant 'follow me'?"

"It does," she answered. "_Suivez-moi_. Maybe you said the wrong thing."

"It's possible I suppose," he thought. "He was sure angry with me."

"He'll understand," she assured him. "I'll explain it when we get back."

"We'll only be here for two nights, at the most," he told her. "We might have stayed longer but we were discovered and we can't wait for Norrington to get here, let alone Barbossa or Mei Lin. Not to mention, if _he_ thinks we're English, he might not be so nice to us, especially after I shouted at him."

"Barbossa and Mei Lin don't know where we are," Ryoko pointed out. "How can they come to get us?"

"How did Mei Lin know we were in Port Royal?" Jack countered, ushering her inside another building with a fancy gold sign.

"Point taken," Ryoko grunted. The smell hit her between the eyes like a hammer. There were so many different perfumes mixed together it made her dizzy and she put an arm on Jack to steady herself.

"We're closed today, sir," a woman told him. "Our ladies are resting today but if you'd like a drink, the bar is still open."

"I'll take that drink, Rosette," he answered. "And I reckon you'll recognize me after I've had a few pints."

"Jack?" the woman asked, coming into the light. "Jack Sparrow? It's been a long time. What brings you to New Orleans?"

"I've come to call in my favor," he answered and the woman shivered.

"I've dreaded that day, Sparrow," she told him. "But I'm keen to my word. What is it you need?"

"Clothes, money, and weapons," he listed. "We're on the run."

Her eyes shifted to Ryoko and they scrutinized each other. Rosette had curly black hair pulled up high on her head, squinty hazel eyes and full lips accentuated by a brilliant shade of red lipstick.

"Who is she?" Rosette asked. Ryoko was glad she hadn't asked her because she wouldn't have known what to say.

"This is Scarlette," Jack introduced.

"That doesn't tell me who she is," Rosette snapped in good humor. She smiled to let him know she was harmless.

He sighed and smiled, glancing at Ryoko. She caught the glance and readied herself. That glance was a warning.

"Rosette, I know this will come as a shock to you but this is my wife."

Ryoko had to jab her fingernails into her palms to keep a straight face through that little announcement. It had been different with the monopoly man but Rosette was very familiar with Jack. She smiled widely at the woman and allowed Jack to bring her to his side. Rosette looked aghast, and then her eyes rolled back in her head as she fainted.

"Now look what you've done," Ryoko snapped, as she bent to help him lift Rosette. He reached into a small pouch at her waist and pulled out a small cylinder. He broke it near Rosette's face and she fluttered awake.

"Wha—" she stuttered, but caught sight of Jack and frowned. "Did you say she was your wife?" He nodded and Ryoko tried to look neutral.

Rosette sighed. "Truthfully Jack, when I realized it was you, I knew you would have changed but I never thought you'd change this much. You said you'd never marry."

He shrugged and smiled at Ryoko. He was quite the actor. "How about that drink, Rosette, and then we'll talk business."

She smiled and bustled about behind the bar. She brought him up a mug and filled it to the brim with, you guessed it, rum.

"Would you like anything, dear?" she asked Ryoko. Ryoko thought about it. The water was dangerous in this time but there wasn't anything else she was willing to drink. She shook her head and smiled. "No thank you."

Rosette laughed merrily. "You don't drink and you look very young. How did you two meet up?"

"In jail," Jack stretched the truth. "And she drinks like a sailor. I discovered that when she was on my ship. Apparently it was her first time drinking as well." He said the last, eyeing Rosette darkly.

The woman fainted again and Ryoko had to bite her lip to stop from laughing. Jack woke her again and she came up fanning herself. "Oh, my. A virgin in the hands of Jack Sparrow."

That was it. Ryoko couldn't hold it in anymore. She pretended to sneeze into her handkerchief so she could hide her facial expression from Rosette.

"So you need clothes, money, and weapons," she continued. "I've got them. Follow me." She vacated the bar and went up the stairs, the two following her. Ryoko noticed that she could catch her reflection on almost every wall. There were so many gilt framed mirrors in this place that she would have gotten lost easily. Several women were loitering on the second floor and Rosette shooed them away. They all looked at Jack with recognition and Ryoko with confusion. Rosette entered a room and began opening drawers and the like.

"If you find something you like, take it," she told him. "Your old stuff is still in that corner. She'll be harder to fit because of her proportions but I'm sure you'll find something." She left them in the room and closed the door. Jack looked around and struck up a match, lighting the lamp on the wall.

"Why did you tell her I was your wife?" she whispered angrily. "You just lied to someone you knew!"

"If I hadn't," Jack answered tiredly. "She would have insisted in coming with me and I couldn't have that. Nice sneeze back there, by the way. Here." He handed her several different colored dresses.

"Wait a minute," she said. "I don't want—"

"We're still in disguise, luv," he answered. "Until we're back on _the Pearl_, you'll have to dress accordingly. I'm just giving you more of a variety than that pink frock you so hate."

She frowned and looked at the dresses. One was a pretty blue that reminded her of a shirt she had at home. She looked through the others, one a deep red silk, a vibrant green taffeta, a black crepe, a dark purple velvet, and a plainer grey one. Jack made her try all of them on and exchange the black one, which was too long, for a blue one with gold embroidery. He also snagged her some smaller men's clothing for later and some boots and other accessories.

As she traded the ugly pink dress for the first blue dress she'd looked at, Jack changed into his old clothes, or ones like them. He tied his bandana into his hair like usual and threaded his accoutrements into their rightful places. He was having trouble with the long bone because he couldn't see what he was doing. There was only one mirror in the room and he needed two to aim it right so he wouldn't hurt his eyes. Ryoko threaded it through for him and he finished the rest.

Soon, they were finished, a trunk holding everything they needed. Rosette had two of her doormen take it to the inn where Jack and Ryoko were staying; making sure one of them spoke French. It was not difficult. Finding someone who spoke English would have been harder.

She gave Jack enough money to get him through a week or two and weapons that her 'ladies' had acquired from their clients. They didn't mind parting with them for Jack Sparrow. Ryoko was thinking it was a good thing only Rosette had heard about her being Jack's wife or they might not have been so keen to help.

Jack and Ryoko walked back to the inn after Rosette had wished them off and Jack stopped into another building. As Ryoko listened to him speak to the man at the desk, she learned that he was purchasing tickets to some place else. They would be leaving tomorrow night at seven.

Jack and Ryoko entered the inn a few minutes later and she spoke to the monopoly man, Jack giving her three reales for their payment. The man began speaking angrily and gesticulating in Jack's direction, saying what sounded like "Sanj" several times.

«_Je suis desolée_, » she told him. « _Il ne parle pas français et ne te pas comprende_. » The man nodded vigorously and waved to her.

Once inside the room, Jack asked her what had taken place.

"He said that you said, "_Sucement_," which means 'a sucking motion'. He took it the wrong way but understood when I explained. He was angrier about you shouting 'Monkey' in his face."

"Right," Jack nodded. He helped her get out of the corset and they went to sleep, carefully not touching each other.

…

Well, then. That was quite an interesting chapter. We've got certain pairings. Lizzy and David, Robin and potentially Norrington, though God knows she won't give him the time of day, the obvious Elizabeth and Will. Next chapter, we'll run into another one, and it won't be Ryoko and Jack. I don't know what's going on with those two and I'm the author. Here's the page count so far. I've written 101 pages! That's nuts! My CATS fic is only 124 at twelve chapters and this is half that and already pass 100. And size twelve font too. I apologize for the formatting. likes to condense my work or something, creating huge paragraphs that are hard to read. Review please! S'il vous plait!

Revisited 10-25-06 … and instead of 101 pages, with the new formatting and additions, we're up to 151. Sometimes the formatting still sticks together, like with short dialogue bursts … this is not a typo, this is a space saver.


	8. Chapter VII : Reunited

Well hello again. I'm a bit lacking in witty repartee at the moment and Mungojerry is off with Rumpleteazer. The other narrators have been scared off somehow so it's just me. I may not be writing much after this for a while so I have to write like the wind. I'd tell you why but certain injustices cannot be undone without much bloodshed. That's all I can say without getting in trouble with other inhabitants of my dwelling.

**Chapter VII –Reunited in More Ways Than One**

Ryoko woke to a soft knocking on the door. She must have slept through her alarm again.

"Great," she groaned. "Now I'm late for zero period. Maybe I should just skip it today and go at first period. I'm sure that stupid band director can live one day without me." She rolled over to look at her clock and opened her eyes to find a room she didn't recognize. There was _someone_ moving around in the room, answering the door.

"Oh God, was I drunk? Did I black out? How can I explain this to my parents?" but then, as he opened the door, she caught sight of his face and everything came zooming back.

Jack spoke quickly to the woman at the door and Ryoko recognized the voice of Rosette. He shut the door and hastily dressed himself, throwing a vest and coat over the shirt he'd slept in. He pulled on his boots and finally looked at her where she sat in confusion.

"I'll be back in a little while," he told her. "I'd feel better if you stayed here but if there's something you need, feel free to roam." With that, he closed the door, leaving her to herself.

She sighed and went back to sleep.

…

As Jack exited the inn, he had no idea that he was being watched. He had nothing on his mind but the words he'd heard from Rosette that morning and he was intent on his destination. The pair of eyes that observed him leaving did nothing to alert him of their presence and he continued on, his mind occupied.

He hurried down the road, passing Bourbon Street without so much as a glance at the women who were already out flaunting themselves. Some tried to get his attention but were ignored as he rushed past them, their perfume not even having a chance to stick to him that morning.

It was a modest little house, overgrown with bougainvillea and long stemmed roses, making it a beautiful little hovel despite the many spiders that nested in the boughs of the plants, their webs collecting dewdrops that sparkled like diamonds in the morning light. He glanced at the address to make sure he had the right house and entered quickly, not bothering to look behind him. The observer already knew where he was anyway. There was no one to see behind Jack.

The house was dark and smelled of smoke. There was an actual hearth and fireplace. Within the charred alcove lay several fresh logs, awaiting the bitterness of the cold that had yet to come. He looked around the familiar room and smiled to himself. He hadn't been here in a long time.

He walked quietly down the hall, gazing at everything as if it were the first time he'd seen it. A noise drew his attention to a room near the end of the hallway.

"Hello?" a voice called. "Who's there? Rosette?"

Jack grinned and followed the voice down to the room. He stopped and leaned against the doorframe and the owner of the voice gasped.

"It _is_ you! Rosette wasn't fibbin' ta me for my own comfort. Jack!"

"Hello, mum," he answered, smiling like a child again. He bent and kissed her cheek as she enveloped him in a hug from her bed. "How goes it with you?"

"Well enough, seein' as I ain't seen you for years," she snapped playfully, obvious love shining in her grey eyes. "Where've you been? Some say you were dead but I'd a know'd it if you was."

"I've been abroad," he answered. "Seen my bit of the world, as it were. Got me a ship and a crew to boot."

"Got sommat else, I reckon," she added grinning. "Rosette tol' me all 'bout you yesterday. Said you had a little lady with ya."

Jack groaned internally but knew that the idea of him being married would set his mother's mind at ease. He hadn't intended to call on her but now that he saw her condition, he was glad for once that Rosette had butted in. For all of Old Woman Sparrow's jokes and bold sayings, she was near the end of her road.

"That I did," Jack answered secretively. "But I don't know what business it was of yours." He smiled at her and she squirmed in bed.

"Dagnabit, Jack. I am your mother, after all. Is it true, what Rosette said? Are you married?"

He laughed at her and pulled a chair over to sit next to her bed. He took one of her pale hands in his and met her eyes. She squealed.

"It's true! Oh my God, Jack! Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"I wanted to tell you in person," he answered, acting his heart out. It took a lot to fool Old Woman Sparrow but he'd learned how when he was young.

"Will you bring her here?" she asked. Jack had to think about that one. He wasn't sure how Ryoko would react.

"I don't know about that one," he told her. "We're leaving tonight."

"Bring her today," his mother insisted. "Do it and this old woman can die happy." Jack nodded. He'd have to brief Ryoko before hand but it was possible. "And don't you go bein' like your father and takin' thirteen others after her, neither."

Jack grimaced. His father's conquests weren't exactly a secret. In truth, Elise had been wife number twelve or thirteen out of fourteen women he had seen fit to marry.

The day wore on and he sat with his mother.

…

Ryoko woke about an hour later and got up. She left the bed unmade and frowned. She couldn't get dressed yet because she'd need Jack's help to lace the corset. She realized she might be able to call a servant to help with this but decided against it.

"I wonder if they have room service," she said aloud, slipping into her robe. She was looking through the trunk when she heard a knock on the door.

'_That must be Jack_,' she thought, noticing the key still sitting on the table where he'd left it. She hurried to the door and opened it. What she found there was nothing like what she had expected.

A large man, his skin so dark it was almost truly black, stood in her door way and she recognized him vaguely. She realized he had been one of Barbossa's crewmembers in the movie. He must have been one that managed to escape the navy's punishment. He had metal studs under his skin in a decorative pattern. The Bos'un was here.

"Um, hi," she said, slamming the door. He busted it open with one blunt shoulder and entered the room where she was frantically looking for some weapon.

He laughed a deep full-throated bass that would have been the envy of any opera singer, had he chosen to use it that way. "Puny girl cannot fight widout Jack, eh? I take revenge by takin' his woman, no doubt. Come here you. Tell me where Jack gone off to and I not hurt you, much."

"Uh … can't we just discuss this without threats?" she shouted at him, her voice higher than she'd like. She grabbed one of the dormant oil lamps and pitched it at the man. He raised an arm and knocked the lamp away, sending it to crash in a wave of glass and oil. He advanced on her, pinning her to the wall.

He was over a foot taller than she was, and weighed at least a hundred pounds more than she did. He moved a hand toward her chest and she did the only thing she could do. She bit his hand, tearing the thin bit of skin between the thumb and forefinger. He hissed, moving away and trailing blood on the floor. She began looking for another weapon and caught sight of the pistol Jack had left her. Before she could lunge for it, the man backhanded her, sending her careening across the room, her vision dark. She ended up by the door, noticing hazily that no one was coming to help her. She was on her own.

She had no plan of action against the large pirate that had entered her room and when he picked her up by the throat, she knew that she was either going to be killed or taken in some way. He used both large hands to hold her in front of him, knowing she was too dazed to kick or fight.

Her right hand was dangling at his chest and she felt something that cleared her mind just enough to grasp the situation, and the hilt of the cutlass sheathed across his chest. She would have to be quick and precise if she were going to live through the experience. She could feel her body giving up as the oxygen was blocked from her system and distantly she could hear sobbing that must have been her own choking voice.

She pulled the cutlass clear of the scabbard and thrust it into him, through him. She felt his shock as a tremor, flying through his arms. He dropped her to the ground and she leaned into the big man's body, forcing the saber in to the hilt, knowing the end was protruding out his back. With the last of her strength, she pulled it back far enough to dig for his heart. She wanted to make sure he was dead. His face was a twisted grimace and a line of drool slipped from his thick lips, mingled with rich heart blood.

Ryoko yelled and tore herself away from the dying man. She fell to the ground in an ungraceful heap, the large carcass tottering backwards and crashing into the hall, his blood decorating the floor in a brilliant wash of fluid.

Below them, in the lobby, the monopoly man returned to his desk from his lunch break, without the slightest idea of what had happened.

…

Norrington sat in his office once again mulling over his journal, wondering on how exactly to describe Miss Skiles' eyes when he heard the clatter and din of someone rapidly approaching his door. A shadow appeared beneath the door and it burst open to reveal the Governor, his gray wig plastered with sweat and his cobalt and gold brocaded coat arranged in a hurried fashion.

Governor Swann, having arrived at Norrington's office, barging in, not bothering to knock, was flushed. The commodore looked genuinely startled and he stood to meet him. If something could make a man such as Swann so flustered as to rush to Fort Charles and arrive in such a state without announcement, it must have been important.

"Tavington has returned," Governor Swann announced, his voice cracking. "What am I supposed to do?"

Norrington swallowed, aghast that Swann would ask him such a question. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him that Elizabeth was in London until the ball and that he was welcome as a guest in my house. He is staying with me, but what should I do? She is already married, and luck would have it, to William Turner. Your threat would have been enough but he knows nothing of Turner's background."

Norrington nodded. "And she knows nothing of Tavington's. I would explain the situation to them as soon as possible. Mr. Turner will grasp it easily. It is Elizabeth we will have to convince, I fear. Perhaps you should hasten to them now."

"I cannot leave the house now or he will know something is amiss," Swann told him. "The only reason I dashed to you is because he is at the docks retrieving his belongings. There is not time. Can you explain it to them?"

"I shall," Norrington agreed. "Tavington is a threat to anyone's life, especially if he thinks they should belong to him."

"Thank you Commodore," Swann added. "I shan't forget this favor."

"It's my pleasure, Governor," Norrington answered, humbly bowing. "Just a favor from one who understands your predicament." He walked the Governor out to his carriage and saw him off. He then saddled his own horse and hastened to the Turner estate. He knocked on the door and entered without pretense. Elizabeth and Will, along with Robin, Lizzy, Nick, and David, sat at the dinner table. They looked at him with wide eyes, taking in his attire, which was soaked to the bone. It was raining outside. He nodded quickly and began to speak.

"Draw the curtains and don't answer the door unless you know who it is. I have a message from your father, Miss Sw— Excuse me, Mrs. Turner."

"What is it, Commodore?" she asked, ignoring the slip. Will motioned for him to be seated. He sat next to Robin who unceremoniously scooted closer to Lizzy.

"Do you remember a man named Darren Tavington?"

"Yes," she answered. "He was very polite to me but he abruptly disappeared some years ago."

"Very polite indeed," Norrington growled. "That man is anything but polite. He is a, excuse me for saying so in front of the women, a sexual sadist." He allowed for the various gasps, giggles, and comments from the women. "He meant to court you once you grew of age and your father sent him away, hoping by the time he returned, you would be safely married. He has returned."

"And she is safely married," Will interjected. Norrington nodded.

"I meant not to step on any toes, Mr. Turner. I will expatiate. Your father had intended for you to marry me, and in the event of Tavington's return, he would feel safe knowing that my reputation would likely keep him at bay. Neither Governor Swann nor I have any hard judgments against you, Mr. Turner but Tavington does not know your reputation. He may see fit to take Elizabeth from you by force."

"Then I shall cut him down," Will vowed. "He is only a man after all."

"I'm afraid he won't wait for you to take him down, Mr. Turner," Norrington told him. "He will strike when none but she are present. I have come here to tell you that Elizabeth must stay in hiding until the ball. Tavington at present believes you to be on vacation in London and we intend to keep it that way for your protection."

Elizabeth looked incredulous. "This is ridiculous! Hiding from a man when I'm already married. How ludicrous! I won't do it. Tell him I won't, Will."

Will glanced nervously from his wife to Norrington. "I'm sorry, dear but the Commodore is right. You mustn't show yourself." Her mouth opened in shock.

"You mean you're taking his side?"

"I'm sorry." Will looked sheepish but his stand was firm.

She turned her head and refused to look at him. Will hung his head but didn't go back on his words.

Norrington nodded. "I should be getting back now. I was only concerned for your safety."

"No, no," Elizabeth told him, her hostess instincts taking over. "Do stay for dinner. One more won't hurt. Sit down, Commodore." She sent for another dish and soon the table held seven instead of six.

The conversation strayed back and forth but always came back to the same subject; the upcoming ball.

"Have you asked anyone yet, Commodore?" Elizabeth asked. He blushed slightly and shook his head.

"Not yet, Mrs. Turner," he answered, becoming slightly embarrassed. "I haven't even thought of it to tell you the truth. I've had ... other things on my hands."

"Like Jack's execution," Lizzy snapped, her words holding a fire reserved for only the worst of her enemies. He regarded her with a solemn eye.

"I believe the Sparrow case with eventually disappear," he answered carefully. "They have been on the run and we can't seem to locate them. There aren't even any rumors." He didn't tell them that he had bounty hunters across the world out looking for Jack Sparrow and his companion.

Nick cleared his throat. Until that time he'd been silent, eating his meal with his eyes turned down, his unruly hair swaying as he cut his meat. "Do you have any idea where they might be?"

Norrington shook his head. "I believe that they are still here, right under our noses, but you aren't harboring them or we'd have caught it by now. My other thought is that they might be in China."

"China?" Robin asked. "Where'd you get that idea?" Until that moment, he hadn't noticed her but he turned to her with a pleasant smile on his face.

"There was an intruder at the execution that ended up cutting Sparrow's line. They were shouting in a foreign language that sounded orient. I've only heard Mandarin once but that sure sounded like it to me."

"_Ni hao ma_," Lizzy said absently.

"What?"

"Never mind."

They talked for a little longer and the Commodore stood to leave. He bowed graciously and exited the house, mounting his horse and riding back off to the fort.

…

McLean pulled into the harbor later that night and he had a hell of a time docking what with the storm moving in. He just had time to get Claudia to shore.

"Where should we be taking you, Missy?" she asked her.

"Take me ... to Will's house. Will Turner."

"Of course," he flagged down a carriage and lifted her into it, telling the driver to take her to the Turner estate. He paid the man and watched the horse drive off into the rain. He returned to his ship and moored her safely for the night.

They heard the knock at about nine thirty and Elizabeth looked a tad frightened. Will went down with the butler to answer the door.

"Who's there?" he asked through the door.

"Jus' an ole' ferry boy, sir," a youngish voice answered through the door. "Oi've got a young Miss who said she be livin' 'ere. She be in a bad way. You'd better let her in."

The butler nodded to Will. "I know the boy. It's safe." Will wrenched opened the door and became bewildered as a drenched and shivering Claudia was thrust into his arms. The boy left abruptly and the door was closed. Will carried her up to the room Ryoko had first occupied and called the servants.

"She's cold and sick and needs to be taken care of," he instructed. "See to it that she is." he shut the door and went to inform Elizabeth of the events.

"I wonder where she's been?" she told him. "And where is the other girl, Diana? What might have happened to them?"

"I'm not going to bother her with questions yet," Will answered, planting a small kiss on her forehead. "She's had a rough few days, you can tell. I'll talk to her in the morning."

He snuggled down in the bed and Elizabeth lay against him, falling asleep quickly, protected in the circle of his arms.

…

Belle Watling stalked around _The Poison Dragon_, giving harsh glares to any man who tried to touch her. Her red hair and tall frame puzzled the men and whispers were going around the ranks, portraying her as an angel. She'd even received an offering from one man but Lord knew she didn't know what to do with a basket of seaweed sliced thin enough to eat. She didn't even know what it was that he'd given her.

She longed to be on the other ship for one reason only. She would never tell that reason unless the other person wished to indulge but she was happy when the two ships drew up broadside and stopped, allowing for her to cross the gangplank to the other side. Barbossa gave her a nod and crossed to _the Dragon _to try to speak with Mei Lin, which was expected to take awhile.

She began searching the ship, which was difficult at night. She never saw them during the day and she wondered why. Looking around a corner, she felt firm hands on her shoulders and she turned to find the one she'd been looking for.

"Barton," she whispered as he pulled her into a cargo hold and shut the door.

"Dammit, Barton," she cursed. "I can't see a thing! What kind of a trick is this when I came to see you?"

"I thought you were through with me?"

"Yeah, well, time changes things. Where are you?"

"Right here," he whispered in her ear. She smiled in the dark and turned to him, searching with her hands. She felt his hands on her shoulders suddenly and he pushed her against a wall, leaning his tall body into her. There lips met in a rush of passion and she felt different somehow. She couldn't tell what had changed and signed it over to being gone from him for so long.

"I've missed you," she whispered into his mouth. He grinned.

"I'm surprised you didn't let on in front of Barbossa," he answered. "My little actress with the fire red hair."

"Oh, you do talk pretty," she whispered, kissing him again, her heart pounding as she felt his hands caress her back and move lower. They stopped at her butt and moved back up; going under the loose blouse she wore to run across the skin of her back. His hands were colder than she remembered and she shuddered when he ran them over the front of her, parts of her anatomy suddenly coming to attention. As she was thinking this, she realized parts of _his _anatomy were at attention as well. She could feel him through her pants. He grabbed her butt and forced her against the front of him while he pushed his tongue into her mouth. She wrapped her legs around his waist and returned the kiss, discovering the difference she had felt before. He had fangs and that got her attention faster than anything. She let him go and pushed him away.

"What are you?" she asked the darkness.

"Nothing you couldn't be," he growled, his voice gone deeper and truly masculine with the situation.

"Nothing I'd want to be," she whispered in fear. "What's happened to you, Barton? You've become a demon."

"And you, a demoness," he told her a second before he slammed her against the wall. She tried to scream but he sealed her mouth with his, ripping her shirt open. He moved to her neck and bit down, stealing her mind and preventing her from screaming.

And he gave the bounty hunter a weapon against Jack Sparrow that would be a bitch to counter.

…

Jack walked down the street in the afternoon light, enjoying the feeling of security that he'd had since visiting Rosette the night before. He actually waved to some of the people he knew instead of ignoring them.

He entered the inn and smiled at the Frenchman, causing the man to give him a wary look. He hurried up the stairs, going two at a time. He had a girl to convince and a mother to please and later on, a ship to catch.

He was actually whistling "_A Pirates Life For Me_" as he cleared the stairs and turned in the hallway. He paused and blinked several times. Surely, it wasn't Abuta's body he saw sprawled out on the floor. He rubbed his eyes just to make sure and noticed something else. A pair of legs, definitely not Abuta's, draped in the white of a dressing gown, lying beside the very still body of the man. Jack ran to the scene.

Sure enough, it was Abuta, lying on his back, his great black eyes staring at nothing, his chest and stomach carved out, a cutlass protruding from his body at an askew angle. He felt for a pulse and, once sure the man was dead, he turned to the other body.

Ryoko lay, pale and unconscious, blood and bruises decorating her throat, a shallow cut across her face where he must have hit her, the outside of the cut turning purple. He picked her up gingerly and laid her on the bed, pulling Abuta's body in. he threw a towel over the drying blood outside and hoped no one would walk by for a while.

"Stupid bastard," he growled, his anger filling him slowly. He kicked the body. "You're lucky she killed you or you'd have me to answer to." He turned to Ryoko who looked very fragile against the sheets. He went downstairs and asked for water, pantomiming until the man understood and got him a pail. Once back in the room, he cleaned her face and neck, relieved that the blood on her was mostly Abuta's. He looked down at her gown and sighed. She was covered in blood and he'd have to get around to doing it anyway. It was better to clean her while she was out. He moved to untie the strings at her bosom and sighed in relief when she opened her eyes.

Seeing Jack, the fear that had been on her face faded. "Is he dead?"

He smiled. "You got him. Good thing, too. Can you sit up?"

She tried and groaned. "Maybe not."

He put a hand at her back and helped her. She groaned and felt her temples. "My head hurts."

"He hit you pretty hard," Jack answered. He trailed fingers lightly down her face, tracing the bruise. "That could have knocked you out."

"It almost did," she admitted. She looked down at herself. "I don't remember getting hurt this badly."

"I don't think that's your blood," Jack told her. "It's going to have to come off. I won't look, I promise."

She glanced at his face and nodded, believing him. He helped her stand as she shimmied out of the ruined gown. He noticed that she had still kept her old undergarments but ignored everything but what he was dabbing. She took the cloth from him and began to clean the blood herself.

"I'm not a complete invalid," she said lightly, which made him think of his mother. When she was cleaned up, she touched his arm. He turned to her in confusion.

"Thanks for being nice when I needed it," she told him. "Will you lace me up?"

"Are you sure you'll be all right? You just took quite a beating,"

"I'll be fine," she assured him stubbornly. She looked a little sad. "I've been through worse."

He took her at her word and began to lace her up. He'd been through worse as well. She put on the gray dress and he realized why when she turned to him. It hid her neck where most of the bruises were. There was still the one on her face, but in this era, it would hardly be questioned.

He began to speak but the way she was taking the attack, as if it were no big deal, stopped him.

"What?" she asked. "You look like you're going to say something. Where did you go this morning?"

"My mother's," he answered truthfully. "And I've got a favor to ask."

She nodded and sat beside him on the still unmade bed.

He looked at her and dove right in. "Rosette went to my mother's house last night and told her about me. I hadn't intended to visit but she knew I was here and I couldn't exactly leave without seeing her. She's in bad shape, bedridden, but she still talks like she's young. Anyways, Rosette told her ... what I told Rosette yesterday."

"About me?" Ryoko asked understandingly. Jack nodded and continued.

"She wants to see you," he told her. "Today. I let her believe what she would because, well, who knows when the next time I'll see her will be. I'd rather her die believing me to be well off and somewhat settled than worrying about her son who has no one to care for him." He waited for her to tell him he was nuts and to find someone else.

She touched his arm and he looked at her, expecting to find anger in her eyes. What he saw there was understanding. "I'll help you, Jack," she told him seriously. She stood, pulling him with her. "Don't worry. She won't suspect a thing."

Jack smiled as she moved about the room, tying her hair up and putting a hat over it. She removed a small box and mirror from the trunk and set about to hiding the bruise on her face and touching up her eyes and lips.

When she was finished, she allowed Jack to escort her from the room on his arm, both of them stepping over the dead man into the hall.

They walked down the road together, playing their roles comfortably. As they passed Bourbon Street, Jack couldn't help but laugh as he saw some of the women whispering behind motley fans and pointing at them.

The little house over crawling with vines looked just as he'd left it and Ryoko smiled as she touched one of the roses.

He entered the house just like last time except it was Ryoko and not he who paused to touch and look at things. He grinned when his mother's large cat pounced to sit on the basket she was looking at.

The fat cat with his thick grey coat stared at her, his yellow eyes like two full raindrops, glistening in the summer light. Jack expected the cat to swat at her like he did to him whenever he got too close but she reached out and scratched the feline behind the ears without interruption. The beast even began to purr, a deep rumbling sound that made the basket vibrate.

"Jack?" a voice called from deep in the house. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," he shouted. Ryoko laughed and he gave her a look. Pulling her away from the cat, he winked. '_We're on_,' were the unsaid words. He offered a hand and she took it, allowing him to pull her down the hall.

They entered the room, which had been lit by the woman that came to visit every day. Jack squeezed her hand and cleared his throat.

His mother was trying not to smile. "You look so embarrassed, Jack. Are you embarrassed of your mother?"

"No, no," he assured her. "Of course not." Ryoko laughed again and he looked at her.

"Do you find me funny," he asked, taunting a bit.

"No, it's just seems cute," she smiled at him. "She's the only woman who can make you that nervous."

"Oh, she knows you," Old Woman Sparrow barked. "I supposed she'd have to know, being your wife. Come on, Jack, introduce us! Have I taught you nothing, boy?"

Ryoko laughed outright and Jack shook his head. "Don't be taking sides, now. This is my mother, obviously. And this is Scarlette Sparrow, my wife."

Ryoko was left thinking how he acted so well and wished she could touch that skill. She was good, but he was something of a master at it.

"She's pretty," the old woman said shortly. "How'd a rapscallion like you get that lucky?"

Jack shrugged and smiled, pulling her to his side and putting an arm around her waist.

"Jack, will you do your mother a favor," Old Woman Sparrow asked. "Go to the market and pick me up some strawberries. Mine have all gone and I need some for my breakfast tomorrow. Scarlette can stay here while you go." Jack gave her a suspicious look.

"What are you planning, mother," he asked her.

"Nothing," she said in fake innocence. "Is it against the law to want strawberries? Would you deny me the fruit of my choice?" Ryoko laughed shortly and Jack sighed. He left the room promising to return with a shipload of strawberries if she wanted them.

"Now then," she said when she heard the door close in the front. "I need to know how well you know my son. Do you know what _The Black Pearl _is?"

"It's his ship, of course," Ryoko answered, a little confused.

"Oh, good. You know who he is then and what he is," the woman sighed in relief. "How did you meet him?"

Ryoko decided to elaborate on the story Jack had been giving Rosette. "Jail. I was visiting my brother and found the keys. They were in the same cell so I let them both out. I just seemed to be running into him a lot after that. He stopped some robbers from getting me one night and asked if I'd like to go with him on his ship and I did." Ryoko said all this without flinching. Improvisation was one of her favorite things when it came to stories.

The woman seemed to be pleased with that. "Good. I'd thought he'd kidnapped you. He always joked that that's how he'd get a woman. Used to say that he missed the good days when all you had to do was club a woman and drag her home." She laughed and Ryoko did as well. She could just imagine Jack saying such a thing. She also thought that kidnapping wasn't too far from what he'd done to her.

"Promise me something," the woman said, the mood changing suddenly.

"Yes?" Ryoko said, allowing the woman to grip one of her hands.

"If you feel something isn't right," she began. "Don't let him go. I can see something in you and my instincts say you won't let him go if the air don't smell right. If you dread it, tell him. If he insists, tell him I told you not to let him go and maybe he listen."

Ryoko nodded. The woman pointed to something. "That box, see it? Bring it here for me, please." Ryoko complied and the woman sat up in bed, opened the box and began looking through it.

"No, not that one. Nope, wrong one again. Dang it, where is that piece? Ah ha!" she smiled and pulled out a necklace. It was a thick gold chain that was pulled taught by the heavy ornament that dangled from it. Set in a gold rim plate sat a large emerald that must have been worth a load of money. The emerald was dark, letting anyone know that it was a good quality stone.

"Here," the woman said, pushing the pendant into Ryoko's hands. "This is for you."

"Oh, no way," Ryoko answered, declining. "I couldn't accept that. It's yours, not mine. It's too beautiful." '_Plus, I don't deserve it_,' she added silently. She was not really Jack's wife and she didn't want to take something that valuable on the pretense that she was.

"Oh, come off it," the woman insisted. "I bought it especially for Jack's wife and I mean to force it on you whether you accept it or not. You can either put it on yourself or force this old woman out of bed to do it for you."

Since Ryoko doubted the woman's stability, she meekly unclasped the emerald and fastened it around her neck. The grey cloth of the dress wasn't very flattering but the gem sparkled nonetheless. Beneath the cloth was the ring with the skull on it, the red eyes hidden from view.

Jack returned a few minutes later to find Ryoko and his mother chatting. He stowed the strawberries in the pantry, careful to seal the box from pests. He entered the room and smiled.

"My name is Elise," she told Ryoko as she stood. "Don't forget to write. Jack has the address, though you wouldn't know it from all the correspondence I get from him." The grey cat jumped onto the bed and rubbed against Ryoko's arm.

"He likes you," Elise Sparrow noticed. "He doesn't like many people, not even Jack. Cats always know things. Maybe he thinks you need love."

"Animals seem to like me," Scarlette answered.

"I hope you weren't including me in that statement," Jack cracked, watching the cat nuzzle her palm aggressively. "We should be leaving."

Ryoko bent to hug the old woman, kissing her cheek. She'd grown close to her in a short time, as if she were her own grandmother, rather than mother. Elise in truth was not that old but the times were different. Jack said goodbye as well and they left the house.

"Wonderful performance," Jack told her once they had entered the inn. "Is that an emerald?"

"You should take it," Ryoko told him, reaching to undo the clasp. "It's meant for your wife and that, I am not."

"Keep it for now," he told her. "It matches your eyes. Get this man to find us some helpers to get the trunk down to the dock while I hide old Abuta."

And so, Ryoko went back into her French mode and arranged not only for two men to help with the trunk, but a carriage as well. Soon, she and Jack were on their way to the ship and they hopefully would have a sane captain.

…

Claudia opened her eyes to a room she'd never seen before in a bed she didn't recognize. Unlike Ryoko, she woke alone. She sat up in bed and stretched out her arms and legs, her dressing gown moving up slightly as she reached for the sky. Dressing gown? She looked down at herself and noticed that she had been clean, dried, and dressed. She looked out the window and recognized Port Royal.

"I made it," she whispered. She swung down from the bed and threw a robe on over the gown. Running fingers hastily through her hair and tying it back with a ribbon, she was satisfied with her appearance enough to open the door and walk downstairs.

She met no one on the third floor even though she knew Will and Elizabeth's room was on that floor. The second floor was different, however. Angelique had just come from one of the other rooms and spotted her.

«_Oh, Mademoiselle!_ » she exclaimed, surprising Claudia. « _Qu'est-ce que tu fais? Pas de bêtise. Tu dois reste dans la lit_ ! »

"Wait, wait, I know this," Claudia put her hands out and her face became thoughtful. "What am I doing? No ... beasts? No, that doesn't make sense. No silly things! Ah, now I remember. I should stay in bed. No, I'm fine really, Angelique. _Je ne suis pas malade_!"

Angelique however did not believe Claudia's words (I am not sick) and tried to take her back to her room when Lizzy and Robin poked their heads out of the room Angelique had just come from.

"Claudia!" they exclaimed, rushing out and hugging her. Angelique clicked her tongue but smiled and left them to talk. They pulled Claudia into their room.

"Where have you been?" Robin asked.

"Diana and I were on_ the Pearl_," Claudia told her. "When we went to tell them to leave, Anamaria invited us along."

"_The Pearl_'s here?" Lizzy squealed.

"No, no," Claudia assured them. "About halfway through the trip, we sailed through a storm. Diana had been sick practically the whole time and I was taking care of her because everyone else was so busy. I didn't get much sleep and I think I caught something bad. I don't really remember much except that I ended up on another ship. I think Anamaria threatened the captain to take me back or else. Last night, he put me in a carriage and sent me here."

"Do you remember anything else?"

"Not really," Claudia answered. "I remember this one guy that always seemed to be there when I woke. He took care of me and I guess he did a good job 'cause I feel great!" She coughed and the girls laughed.

"Damn," Claudia said. "I wish they had Robitussin here."

A knock on the door made the girls turn to find Will. He smiled cutely. "How are you feeling Miss Gonzales?"

"Just peachy," she answered smiling at him. He nodded.

"Will you feel well enough to attend the ball in two weeks?"

"A ball!" Claudia gasped. "Cool! Of course I will, Will!"

He laughed. "I'll send Angelique." He disappeared from the doorway.

"So, how did it go with the execution and all," Claudia asked.

Lizzy started laughing and Robin looked at the giggling girl, trying not to laugh herself.

"I guess I'd better tell you since Lizzy won't be able to talk for another ten minutes," Robin said.

"I take it they got away, judging by your reactions," Claudia assessed. Robin nodded.

"Yeah, they got away, thanks to some Chinese freak who started flying around the square and screaming," Robin told her. "Was that part of the plan?"

"I don't think so," Lizzy answered. "I think it was that Mei Lin chick that Jack talked about. She wanted to kill him and I think only timing saved him."

"Saved by the gallows," Robin added. "That's ironic.'

"Tell me what happened!" Claudia exclaimed. "You forget, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well, Jack and Ryoko were in jail and Norrington went in and talked to them, telling them that Will is going to be held the next day so he can't interfere, but we made a plan anyways with the help of Murtogg. You know him, the guy who was at the restricted dock in the movie? Yeah, well, Jack was supposed to go first and they had _just _put the noose around his neck when Murtogg cut Ryoko's ropes. As soon as this happened, somebody screamed and started yelling in Chinese! I thought it was Ryoko until I saw the person in black flying around the parapets. She threw a big ass knife that was flying right at Jack's neck. Now, just as the knife was about to get him for good, the executioner opened the trap door. The knife cut the rope and Jack fell to the ground. Ryoko grabbed the knife and followed him, cutting him loose." Robin stopped and looked at Lizzy. The laughing girl continued.

"Well, Robin, David, and I were holding the gates open and we had a horse, so they jumped on the horse and ride off to David's house."

"Wait a minute," Claudia interrupted. "Who's David?"

"It's DJ's past identical look alike," Robin answered with slight humor. Lizzy glared at her.

"Okay, never mind," Claudia added. "What happened?"

"They got to David's house and changed into their disguises and ran off and catch a ship set for New Orleans," Robin concluded. "That's where they're supposed to be right now. Norrington thinks they're in China because of Mei Lin."

"The funniest thing," Lizzy added. "Is Ryoko's got another name. Remember the Mrs. Gallegos fiasco?" (In their middle school years, Ryoko had been teased by being called by a boy's last name, Gallegos. Throughout her years, the students just picked different names to call her.) Claudia nodded, laughing.

"That was sort of my fault," Claudia admitted.

"Yeah, and so were the pregnant rumors," Robin shot. (More fun against Ryoko. It had been rumored that she was pregnant at one point in time, which was impossible, seeing as she was a virgin.)

"Well, it wasn't either of us this time," Lizzy told Claudia. "Norrington's started this one. The name for her on the notice board for execution was Scarlette Sparrow, the accomplice and more to Jack Sparrow."

Claudia's mouth dropped open in shock. She started laughing so hard she couldn't breathe save for the choking gasps that issued from her shocked face.

"Lucky her!" she finally gasped. "I think Diana's the only one of us that went back in time that wasn't infatuated with him! Oh, and Nick of course."

"She didn't look too happy about it," Robin answered. "Or maybe it was her impending death that had her looking so angry. Anyways, we've had women by the dozen stopping us in the streets, mostly 'hoes. They're all asking about Jack and Ryoko."

"What's gonna happen when Anamaria hears?" Claudia asked. "Not that it's likely she will. She's at Isla de Muerta, or Isle De Morta. I can't tell if that's French or Spanish."

"Spanish," Lizzy told her. "French would be, Isle de la Morte. The Island of Death."

"Anyways, the only way she'll find anything out is from Jack and he'll make it clear that Ryo isn't his ... accomplice and more."

"Not if he wants to annoy Ryoko," Robin muttered. "Those two fight worse than my brother and I do."

Angelique entered finally and began fitting Claudia for another dress. She asked what color she'd like and gave her a selection, all in French of course. Lizzy had chosen lavender with dark purple embroidery, Robin taking a royal blue. Claudia was left with a sea green, a pale yellow, another pinkish fuscia color, or an unappealing brown. She chose the sea green one and Angelique began the measurements.

"How are we going to find dates?" Claudia asked as Angelique pinned up the hems. "We don't know anyone."

"Lizzy's already got a date," Robin snorted. "David asked her. I think he's really DJ but in a past life. It makes sense." Lizzy blushed. "No one is going to ask me," Robin stated. "I don't have that kind of luck." The bell rang below and they heard footsteps.

"It might be that guy they were talking about last night," Lizzy squealed. "Tavington! Poor Elizabeth. I hope he doesn't figure it out."

"Who?" Claudia asked, turning so Angelique could reach the other side of her wide skirt.

"Some guy who wants Elizabeth. He's a sadist," Lizzy remarked skeptically. Everyone turned to the door where another servant had entered.

"Miss Skiles, you have a visitor," the woman told her meekly. Robin stood curiously and left the room.

"I wonder who it is," Lizzy giggled. She looked out the window, opening the shutters and poking her head out. "Ack! It's still raining. All I can see is a horse tethered to the rail. Whoever it is, they're in the house already. I'm gonna go see."

"No, ma'am," the servant girl told her. "Miss Skiles' visitor asked not to be disturbed."

"Why not!" Lizzy exclaimed. "She's one of my best friends. She'll tell me anyway."

The servant was very adamant about it however and Lizzy sat down next to Claudia, rather dejectedly.

…

Robin entered the library where the girl had told her the visitor was waiting. She closed the door behind her upon entering and was immediately overtaken by the size of the room. There were so many books on the shelves she hardly knew where to start looking. She would have forgotten her reason for coming there had her visitor not cleared his throat behind her. She turned to find an unlikely sight.

"Good-day, Miss Skiles. Are you well?" he greeted her.

"I'm as well as I can get," she told him a bit sarcastically. "And if you look outside, it's obviously not a good day."

He laughed, his voice very sophisticated. "You are very frank, Miss Skiles. It is a quality not found in many women."

Robin knew where the conversation was going and meant to deter this man. I bet some of you can guess who he is. "Ry— Scarlette is just as frank as I, if not more so. Do you admire her as well?"

"There is a difference between a gentile woman, such as yourself, and a woman of her sort, a pirate and worse," he stood from his seat and sauntered over to her. "You lack a certain coarseness that is hers alone."

Robin shook her head. "You have condemned my friends to death, Commodore. Your flattery is wasted on deaf ears."

"I could pardon them," he began. Her attention was drawn to the man before her.

"I hear a "but" coming," she presumed.

"But I cannot recall the contracts on them," He finished. "There are several hunters after them. In fact, I need to be stimulated even to pardon them."

Robin sighed. "What do you want that I'm willing to give up?"

He smiled at her. "Would you accompany me to the ball in two weeks, Miss Skiles? It would be an honor if you would accept and being seen with me would boost your social image."

"My, aren't we modest," she snorted. "I don't care much about my social image, but you will pardon them if I say yes?"

"Of course," he nodded.

She shrugged. "Why not. I'll take one for the team. It's not like anyone else is going to ask me. I accept your offer, Commodore."

He smiled and nodded, taking one of her hands and kissing her knuckles. "Thank you most graciously, Miss Skiles. Port Royal is now a safe zone for the Sparrows, assuming they don't do anything else worth condemning them."

"Thank you, Commodore," Robin told him, curtsying as best she could given what practice she'd had; none.

"I cannot stay," he told her. "I shall leave you now. Until we meet again, Miss Skiles, adieu." He bowed and left the library, entering the storm to return to wherever he came from.

Robin trudged up the stairs, carrying an invisible burden. She entered the room and sighed. She really didn't want anyone to know. She shrugged and slumped to the bed next to Lizzy and Claudia, who up until she had returned had been playing a heated game of 'hot hands'.

"Who was it?" Claudia asked with her normal amount of subtlety … none.

"No one too important … at least not if you ask me," Robin sighed in annoyance. "But I have some good news, and you'll thank me … eventually. Jack and Ryoko are welcome to return to Port Royal. It's a safe zone now. And I have a date for the ball."

Naturally, this brought a flurry of squeals from the two girls and Robin spent the remainder of the day thwarting their attempts at discovering the identity of her visitor.

…

Belle Watling opened her eyes and saw the world as she'd never seen it before. The grains in the wood above her head were very distinct though they were several feet away and she could almost see the dust particles in the air. She took a deep breath and could smell everything within the room. She knew that the candle had burnt out a few hours earlier, she knew there was sand on the floor near the corner and she knew there was a human tied to a chair.

A human, unlike her, she also knew. She understood with a distant knowledge that she wasn't what she had been before and that the frightened boy was food. She rose from the bed and looked straight at him, her black eyes shimmering like obsidian spheres. She looked around with both of her eyes, her eye patch lying on the table, forgotten and unnecessary. Her new blood had restored her sight and she smiled, flashing her wicked teeth. The boy in the chair began to whimper like a child as she stood from the bed.

"Don't hurt me, please," he cried. "I do anything you want. I'll turn pirate, just don't hurt me." She ignored his pleas as if she couldn't understand and straddled his waist, sitting on his lap.

"This is the way to go, boy," she whispered, and struck like lightning. She dug her teeth into his throat, quelling his cries as her mind crushed him. The blood filled her mouth and flowed down her throat, the heat of it filling her body and stealing the cold away. Her cheeks became flushed and her skin not so cold, but the boy in her arms didn't notice this. His flesh became as cold as hers had been a few minutes before and he sat still in death, blood trickling down his neck to make a trail from his collarbone to his stomach.

Well sated, she stood and shook her wild mane of red hair out, watching it fall in riotous curls around her face. It had taken on a luster it hadn't possessed before she had been changed and she growled in pleasure. She opened the door and went in search of her maker.

When he caught sight of her, his eyes glowed brilliantly and they met each other with an embrace. Barbossa raised an eyebrow at this exchange and noticed that she was no longer human.

"So glad we're all one big happy family," he grunted. Belle turned to him and grinned.

"I see what you mean when you say you need to see it to believe it," she said to no one in particular. "This is amazing."

"Awfully accepting, ain't she," Barbossa commented. "Did you tell her the rest?"

"You can't be in the sun," he explained. "Silver will hurt you, as will decapitation. You must feed upon the living to sustain yourself but it doesn't have to be human."

"Our boy Barton here feeds on rodents," Barbossa joked.

"Only not to draw attention," Barton argued. "If too many humans disappear, they'll be likely to mutiny."

"Oh, we can stop them," she purred, running a hand down his chest. Barbossa turned away to give them a bit of privacy. Truth was, he was jealous. No woman had willingly given him any attention in a very long time and the only other woman in the vicinity was Mei Lin. He'd kill himself before going to her and even if he'd tried, she'd probably have killed _him_. As he thought about this, a dot on the horizon caught his eye.

A human would have missed it in the dark and they would have sailed past without so much as a thought on the moonless night but Barbossa wasn't human.

"We've got a ship on the horizon," he barked. "Looks like a passenger ship. Estimated one and a half gun decks. Two masts."

He shouted to _the Dragon_. "Oye, ya bloody heathen wench! There be a ship comin' in. What do ye plan to do?"

Mei Lin came out of her chamber and fixed an eye on him. "Ship be sunk like others. Not live long."

"Aye, that's what I expected," Barbossa growled. "Well, let's go then."

And they readied for an ambush.

…

Ryoko, with a bag full of food, stole down to the cargo deck. She had made a little friend the day before, a stowaway.

"Eric?" she whispered into the cargo hold. "Eric, are you there?"

"Over here!" the little boy squealed. He was hidden behind a large pile of crates holding provisions. He was a scrawny little boy of about eleven with untidy black hair

and bright blue eyes, his face a mask of dirt and grime. She handed him the bag of goodies and he began to gorge himself.

"Thanks, lady," he said politely. She hadn't told him her name or asked him any questions but had brought him food just because she couldn't bear for him to starve. She hadn't told Jack because she wasn't sure how he'd take the news and she didn't steal food for him. She gave him most of her own share on the excuse that she could lose a few pounds.

As the boy ate hungrily, she looked around the cargo deck. There were chests and bags of passengers on the ship including theirs. She knew there were rats because she could hear them, no matter that there were three cats on board to rid the ship of the vermin. She'd met the cats on her first bored tour of the ship. Now, they almost seemed to seek her out.

Ryoko noticed a few barrels marked with warning signs and realized that they were gunpowder barrels. Even passenger ships carried ammunition.

"Why are you hiding?" she asked the boy. He looked at her with his incredible blue eyes and shrugged.

"I didn't like how the old man was treatin' me so I left. He was a drunk anyway, always comin' home late at night and beatin' on me and my sis. She left last week with a man she'd taken a fancy too. He started in on me even harder." He bit off a chunk of bread and swallowed with a gulp. "I'm goin' off to find pirates. They the only thing that scares my old man enough to get him to leave me alone. What about you, lady? Where are you going?"

"I'm not sure," Ryoko told him. "I'm with a friend. He's got all the plans. I'm just along for the ride. He needs me for something but that's about all that's keeping us together."

"Are you sure about that, luv?" a rilingly familiar voice said. Footsteps were heard on the wet wood and Jack Sparrow himself stepped down smugly into the dank of the hold. He sat with a plunk next to Ryoko and the boy ducked behind the boxes. "I'd like to think we're at least friends."

She laughed. "And would you offer friendship if you didn't need me for whatever?"

He looked at her darkly and she squirmed. He turned to the boy, who was well hidden by that point.

"Come out, son," he drawled. "I already know you're here. I'm not about to turn you in though if they find you I daresay you'll have a time of it." Eric poked his little face out from the cart and returned to sit in front of Ryoko.

"Scarlette, luv," he told Ryoko. "You can't be feedin' the stowaways. If you're discovered, they're liable to hang you in the brig with our little friend here."

"Don't call me that," she told him angrily. "There's no one to fool here. Eric is my friend. He doesn't care who we are."

"He doesn't _know_ who we are," Jack assured her, the boy's eyes growing wider. "And I intend to keep it that way, luv. Can't have anyone knowing unless we're sure of their loyalties."

"I know who you are," Eric whispered. "You're Jack Sparrow!"

"_Captain_ Jack Sparrow," Jack corrected. "And no I'm not." He looked at Ryoko skeptically.

"I didn't say a word about you," she told him. "If he thinks you're Jack, it wasn't me who put that into his head."

"No," the boy said. He rummaged in his dirty clothing and came up with a roll of parchment. He unraveled it and showed it to them.

"I can't read, o' course, but I knew it was you. Your picture's here."

"Jack and Scarlette Sparrow, deadly pirates. Suspected of being in the area," Jack read. "This is recent. It must have been that damn Williams character."

"Look," she pointed. "Where'd they get that picture?"

It was a sketch of Jack, clearly a posed picture, his smirk all too lifelike to not be candid. Jack laughed quietly and sighed. "I did wonder what she did with that picture. Rosette would do anything for money except utterly selling us out. This started as a portrait some years ago. She must have allowed them to copy it off and use it for advertising."

"I didn't get a nifty picture," Ryoko said in mock jealousy.

"Where did you get this, kid?" Jack asked the boy. He backed up a little.

"I took it off the wall on the jail house," he answered. "I got caught pinching somethin' and they took me in. It was jus' this mornin'. My old man came and got me and tried to hit me again but I ran off and got on this here boat to get away."

"We weren't here hardly a day and they're already onto us," Jack scoffed. "Won't be long before the road ends."

"You're making me nervous," Ryoko told him in a small voice.

"Don't give up, Mr. Sparrow," Eric said in his squeaky little voice. "You're the bestest pirate ever. No one'll ever catch you."

"Keep your voice down, kid," Jack whispered. There were men talking above.

"No doubt about it. That's a privateer flying English flags. We're about to be impressed."

"What about the Chinaman? Where does that fit in?"

"Hell if I know, mate. All I know is they're both gonna broad us and then we're doomed! Damn heathen or the British government. Both gonna be bad if you ask me."

"Not like they'll give us a choice," the second voice muttered.

Jack and Ryoko grew very still as the words from the two men sunk in. A privateer and Chinese flagship were near. That could only mean one thing.

"Follow me and quickly. Don't dawdle. Kid, help me with that trunk," Jack took the lead, he and Eric easily carrying the trunk. Jack rushed down the stairs until he hit the brig. He shut the door behind him and knocked out the bilge pump, leaving a nice round hole big enough for a man to climb through.

"Stay here and don't let anyone know you're down here," he instructed Ryoko. He pulled out a dagger. "Jam this into the trap once I'm out. I know what I'm doing so you'll just have to trust me. This should keep them at bay if they get this far. Take this and shoot anyone who tries to stop you." He handed her the dagger and his pistol and began to hoist himself out of the bilge. The trap closed and Ryoko yelled.

"No, Jack! Stop!" she cried. Fear was running through her body and the woman's words echoed. The air didn't feel right to her and she wasn't supposed to let him go. "Don't go!"

"I've got to. There's no other way," he told her through the cross bars of the trap door.

"I can't let you go! Your mother said not to let you go if it didn't feel right," she exclaimed. He paused and looked down at her.

"So that's what you were talking about."

"Yes! Don't leave, Jack. It's not worth it."

"Give me the dagger," he told her. She passed it through the spaces in the door and he jammed it in the outside.

"No, Jack! What are you doing?"

"Don't worry 'bout me, luv," he grinned through the mesh. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." He disappeared up the stairwell.

"What's he doing?" Eric asked, clutching her skirts.

"I don't know," she answered. "But I hope he's right. We're about to be attacked by pirates from both sides, kid. Stick to me. I won't leave you."

"You promise?" he asked, looking up at her. He'd been left by many an adult.

"I promise," she answered, and she meant it.

"Are you a pirate too?"

She looked down into his small face and thought. "I guess I am now." His little grin made her heart sing.

…

Jack raced to the top deck, ignoring orders from frantic crewmen and screaming passengers. He knew what he had to do and he'd do it without moral qualms. His priority was getting himself and Ryoko out of sight before Barbossa and Mei Lin took the ship. Racing to the aft side, he found what he was looking for. A rowboat all nicely moored. There were several other boats along the deck and one wouldn't be missed. He unfettered the lines and lowered the boat to the water on _the Dragon _side of the attack. Barbossa's eyes would be too good in the night and Jack understood that.

The gangplanks were in position and Jack realized that the crew was not going to fight. "Cowards the lot of them," he breathed and froze when he met the eyes of his old first mate. Barbossa stood before him and smiled.

"Well, Jack," he said slowly, his voice still gravely. "It seems you've come to the end of your line."

Jack gave him a sarcastic smile. "Oh, I don't know about that." He held the rope behind him and would make way once Barbossa had been distracted. He felt for his pistol and mentally cursed when he realized Ryoko had it.

Barbossa stepped closer, a confident sway to his walk, certain he'd caught his prey this time. A scream brought both the men's attention elsewhere. Jack's first thought was Ryoko but he banished it from his mind. He'd never heard her scream before. Mei Lin came flying from the rigging, pushing Barbossa out of the way. She pulled a stick from her hair and flung it at Jack. The ivory pin buried itself in his arm and he faltered a step, backing up. He tripped over the railing and fell over the edge of the ship to land a few feet from the rowboat. He noticed Ryoko and the boy already in it.

He opened his eyes under water and saw a sight to make any man scream. In tossing the bodies from the ship, Barbossa and Belle had attracted a school of sharks, and Jack was bleeding into the water.

…

Hearing the slight slapping sound of the water, Ryoko looked out the bilge hole and saw the rowboat. She didn't hesitate but boosted Eric up to the sill so the boy could climb in first. She was about to follow but saw the trunk. Jack had brought it down for a reason and she'd hate him to risk his life and leave it. She dragged it over and shoved it through the hole. Eric settled it in the center of the boat and held a line while she climbed into it as well.

A second later, Jack hit the water with a splash. She shouted and began frantically scanning the surface for him. She handed Eric the pistol and gasped as Jack's head broke the surface. She grabbed him and hauled him over the side, her strength doubled by her fear. Only the quickness with which she pulled him over saved the boat from capsizing. A shot rang and a jet of water flew up next to the boat. Barbossa was leaning over the side and shooting at them.

Eric aimed and shot the pistol, tearing a scream from the vampire captain.

"Row," Jack hissed "Now!" Ryoko seized the oars and rowed, her back and shoulder muscles working like never before. She bit back a scream as she saw the caudal and dorsal fins slicing the sea in search of Jack's blood. She did not notice his wound, nor did Eric. She rowed until the two ships were gone from her sight and her chest and back were one massive cramp. An explosion ripped the night and Ryoko could see how far she'd come. The two ships were miles away, or at least it seemed that way over the water, and she could only contribute her fear to taking her that far.

"Look!" Eric screamed, pointing into the air. Debris, some of it on fire, rained down on them, splashing in the water all around. A smoldering bit of wood cracked Eric on the head and bounced onto Ryoko, catching her sleeve on fire. She quickly doused her arm by sticking it in the ocean.

"Are you all right?" she asked Eric, but he had been knocked out by the debris. After the rain of wood ceased, Ryoko let go the oars and listened. There were far away shouts and the floating pyre that had been the two masted ship seemed to blaze with a ferocity reserved for old hatred. The two dark shapes that must have been _the Dragon _and the privateer were growing smaller and fainter as they traveled away from the blazing ship back towards New Orleans.

Ryoko shivered in the night and looked at the two in her boat. Eric had a small blistered gash above his left eye that bled a little but had been partially cauterized in the initial blow. Jack was either unconscious or asleep and Ryoko suddenly realized how wiped out she was. She laid down in the boat and fell asleep, exhausted.

…

Anamaria woke in the night, a cold sweat covering her body. She'd dreamt that Jack was in danger and needed help. She shivered in her bunk, listening to the snoring and bodily functions going on around her. Being the only woman in the crew, she had to sleep amongst some of the foulest characters known to man, or woman.

She slipped on her boots and jacket and went up to relieve the man above of his watch. She wouldn't have been able to sleep after that dream anyways. The man above was happy to get the rest of the night off and went below without argue. Anamaria glanced at the dark caves and wondered what had ever possessed Jack to find them. Their dark mouths looked colder than the distant moon and the chilling sounds the wind made navigating their openings almost sounded like voices calling from beyond the grave.

A sniffling sound alerted Anamaria that someone else was abroad. She looked to her left and saw Diana perched over the sea beneath the shadow of the main mast, her tears falling like rain into the ocean. Anamaria walked over to her and placed a hand on the girl's back. "What's wrong, honey? It'll be all right."

"No, it won't," Diana sobbed. "You could never know. It's the most horrible nightmare ever come true."

"I just had one of my own," the pirate told her. "It was about someone ... someone I care about."

Diana sniffed and looked up into the moonless sky. "That makes me feel a bit selfish but mine is worse than death. It … it's like … oh if only I had the words to describe my feelings!"

"Oh, honey, dreams fade with the sun," Anamaria soothed. "Darkness isn't permanent and neither are nightmares."

"That's true," Diana nodded. "But not all light is good either."

Anamaria didn't know what to say to that so she just rubbed the girl's back and stood with her until dawn where Diana's olive skin glowed with the coming day.

…

Anamaria was not the only one who had a dream. Nick Maxwell turned in his bed, his tall frame hardly fitting in the guest room's furnishings. His mind was whirling with dread and fear, something not very usual to him.

As much as he was put down by his sister, Nick wasn't one to run from much. He had often killed spiders when she was too squeamish to come near. He had faced the dark when they were little where as she pretended it away. Neither of the Maxwells were cowards. They both had their strengths and weaknesses and both managed to ignore that the other had qualities they lacked. Ryoko, who tried to keep her emotions non existent, hated that her brother could pull off stoicism without breaking a sweat and Nick, who criticized her for dressing in her unique style, dubbing her 'poser', wished that he had her courage to be different. Deep down, they respected each other but neither would admit it.

Nick woke to the still darkness of his room and knew that something was amiss. He had always scorned Ryoko for claiming she could sense things but when the feeling came, he didn't doubt it. He stepped out of his room quietly and sought the large clock. It was well past midnight and the rain had stopped. He glanced out the window on a dark, moonless night and shivered, not so much from fear or cold but from dread.

He opened the closet and took out the broadsword he'd been working on. It was a medieval weapon that had been rusted and discarded by Mr. Brown, Will's old master. Nick had salvaged it, recognizing it for what it was and with a little help from Will, made it shine again. He would take it out occasionally and rub it down, cleaning the already spotless blade and holding the hilt in his calloused hand. It was a heavy sword, built for knights in armor, not pirates or naval officers. The engraving on the hilt, marred by aged and time was in Latin but Nick knew not what it said.

He swiped the sword around, already used to the different balance of weight. It made his mind easy to practice with the sword as if he were letting off steam. He knew not where the dread came from and certainly didn't think his sister had anything to do with it. She was not of his concern and he could care less what she did, as long as she left him alone. If one were to tell him that her life was in danger, he would disregard it with a shrug. In their time, the 21st century, it was hard to believe such a thing and his mind was still accustomed to that era.

The upcoming ball meant nothing to him either. He would certainly attend, but he was not ready to commit himself to being a gentleman of the 18th century. He would not willingly ask a lady to dance a waltz with him or chat gaily about politics or music. Oh, it was all fine and glamorous to a certain point but if he had to wear those little high-heeled shoes and tights the men wore to make their calves stand out, he would not be in a good mood.

He realized he wanted to fight. He wanted to follow Jack, not Will. Will had a boring life to lead where as Jack was a wanted man, skipping the navy and other such things. His life was an adventure and Nick was stuck making nails all day. It wasn't fair. His sister was out with the most notorious pirate of the time and he was stuck in Port Royal. He couldn't even cuss or drink in front of women for God's sake.

And Jack had bet Ryoko against Nick for sword fighting. Life sucked but it hadn't been much better before. At least now, he didn't have school to worry about or nagging parents though God knew Elizabeth and Will were parents enough for him.

As the sun rose, Nick copied the engraved letters from the hilt onto a piece of parchment and put the sword away, much as it pained him to do so. He would find out what the words meant as soon as he had a chance.

…

Not used to waking with the sun due to covers over the head or heavy curtains, Ryoko felt groggy and sore. She had a weight on her legs and something jabbing her in the back.

Realizing she wasn't in "Kansas" anymore, she sat up suddenly, hurting her neck as she did. Eric was curled up on her legs and she'd been sleeping on Jack's cutlass. The little boat had drifted and run aground on an island. Ryoko smiled broadly. What luck! They might have just drifted forever, never finding land or another ship but they had hit an island. She jumped from the boat, landing in knee high swells. She pulled the boat further up onto shore, her arms protesting painfully with each move she made.

Eric woke suddenly, perking his little head up and looking around with bright blue eyes. He jumped from the boat and ran around in exploration. The island, or what she could see of it, was quite large and a thick covering of trees started about a quarter of a mile from the waters edge.

"Don't run too far and be careful," she told the boy. "We don't know what's out there." She turned to Jack who was lying very still in the boat and gasped.

He lay on his side, his upper left arm crusted with dried blood, a smooth white needle protruding at a painful angle from his arm.

"Jack!" she shouted in alarm, ripping his shirtsleeve so she could get a look at the wound. The needle or chopstick as she realized it was, delved into his skin in a clean puncture. She pulled the ivory stick from his arm and he shouted in pain, waking all of a sudden and throwing her off.

"What are you doing, woman! Damn, that hurt! Can't let a man sleep in?"

"Jack! You're alive!"

"O' course I'm alive, girl," he groaned. She held the stick up so he could see it, bits of blood and other things stuck to it. "Oh, that. Damn Lin clan. Help me out of this boat." She complied, allowing him to drape his arm over her shoulders. She helped him across the sand and laid him down.

"Now go and open the trunk. There's a bottle in it that I need. Find it. Tell the boy to come here." She obeyed and fetched the bottle, hoping he wasn't going to drink himself silly. Eric was listening to Jack and he ran off to the edge of the trees.

Jack ripped off a bit of his left shirtsleeve that was dangling and handed it to Ryoko she held it gingerly and waited for instruction. Jack opened the bottle and took a long drought of whatever was inside.

Eric had gotten a small fire going and Jack smiled. He handed him the cutlass and the boy took it, disappearing behind Ryoko.

"Pour this on the spot," he told her, handing her the bottle. "Don't be squeamish, girl. Be what you usually are. I don't care if it hurts. It'll hurt worse if I get an infection." She carefully poured the liquid into the hole and Jack hissed in pain. He managed not to writhe and Ryoko relaxed when he told her she'd done enough.

"Come boy, now. Hand it to her. Good." Ryoko accepted the cutlass and realized what Jack wanted. The tip of the sword glowed a brilliant red, hot enough to cauterize but not hot enough to catch fire or ruin the blade.

"I see it in your eyes, luv. You know what to do," he was grinning. "I ask that you pin me down first because this is going to hurt."

"Drink this," she told him, forcing the liquor on him. At first, she'd wanted him sober. Now she wanted him as drunk as he could get. He chugged the bottle at her request and she pinned him as best she could and still have her hands free.

"Hold his arm Eric, and don't let go, no matter what," she took a deep breath and felt Jack mirror her. He grabbed a hold of a rock in the sand and readied himself. She pressed the hot metal to the wound.

As Jack's flesh sizzled and he didn't cry out, Ryoko did. She screamed for him and herself and tore the metal away from him when he shouted.

"It's done! Take it off!" She flung the sword away and breathed finally. Eric was sitting in the sand shivering, his blue eyes wide with fear.

She was crying silently and staring at the rock Jack had squeezed. Its hard body had been cracked and rubbed away by the holder. She didn't realize she was shaking until a hand lighted on her shoulder.

"It's all right, luv," Jack said softly. "Don't cry for me. I can take the pain, and I deserve it. It does a body good."

"Got Milk," she cracked. He cocked his head to the side.

"Not milk, luv," he corrected. "Got Rum."

She smiled and Eric giggled as only a child can. They were alive and the pirates weren't in sight. Life was good, for the time being.

…

YAAAAAWNN! It's after 2 am now. I really should be sleeping but this story is keeping me awake! Must write more! Must add another chapter. I have a shirt that says

"GOT RUM?" and another that says "REALLY e BAD EGGS" If that says really e bad eggs it's because the font didn't carry over. I have a font where a lowercase E is a skull and there's a skull on the shirt between really and bad. Whatever. I bet you can tell I'm dead.

Revisited 10-26-06


	9. Chapter VIII : Islands, Sadists

Oooh . . . When the crypt goes creak and the tombstones quake, spooks come out for a swinging wake. Happy haunts materialize and they begin to vocalize, grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!

Yeah, I just saw The Haunted Mansion and I am sorry. I don't think they did the greatest job with that. It was short and had a predictable plot. Maybe it's just me but I figured out that Sara Evers was . . . Never mind. I don't want to spoil it for you. I wonder if they'll have any other movies of DL rides?

Let's see.

If, you're mind's been wishin' 'bout goin' fishin' but you're still down on the shore. Grab your campin' gear and meet us right here. Got a whole bunch of fun in store. It's time for a vacation for some rest and relaxation. So forget your cares and join us bears in the great outdoors. Country Bear Jamboree of course. What was that movie called?

What about?

-How do you do? Mighty pleasant greetin'. How do you do? Say it when you're meetin'. How do you do? With everyone repeatin'. Pretty good, sure as you're born.

-Everybody's got a laughin' place, a laughin' place, to go ho ho.

-Zip a dee doo da. Zip a dee-eh. My oh my what a wonderful day. Plenty of sunshine headin' our way. Zip a dee doo da. Zip a dee-eh! That would be Splash Mountain. I know there were cartoons on that.

It's a Small World is Chucky, International

I must be nuts. I know all the words to the Disney Land rides! Everyone reading this should know the pirate song by now but if you insist . . .

Mungojerry; Growltiger was a bravo cat who hung out on a barge. In fact he was the roughest cat that ever roamed that barge!

Jack; Wrong pirate song, Mungojerry. Go back to the CATS fic. *sigh* The pirate song will appear in one of these chapters. It's in Chapter One (not to be confused with the prologue).

Anyways, here's a disclaimer for all the crap I wrote above. I don't own anything above except for my critique on the Haunted Mansion and my ideas for Chucky International. And I certainly don't own anything below except for my original characters, not to be confused with participants in the story. In short, I own all the characters who lack names.

Generally, I come up with a character, and then I assign people to it, sort of like casting a person in whatever role, the exceptions being people I wrote _for_ someone.

A disclaimer to Margaret Mitchell. Guess why, I dare you.

A disclaimer to GP high school and Warren high school, not necessarily in that order, not that I'd want to own either.

(God this is taking forever. I should have paid as I went.)

Elise Sparrow I modeled after Aunt Elise in _Les Parapluies de Cherbourg_, however, I met a woman that would be perfect for her. Eric, David, and the future kids are all people I know, though David and Eric's names have been modified. Mei Lin is Zhang Ziyi. Captain McLean and his friend Parker are also people I know, again, names modified. Captain Arod and Schoolteacher Williams are both baritone players. I can't tell you where I got Angelique from because a certain Asian food will sue me just for mentioning their work. Tavington I got from the Patriot. I just changed his first name because we had too many Williams in this fic.

That all for now. On with the chapter.

**Chapter VIII –Islands, Sadists, and the Usual Pirates **

— [21st century]—

Anita Arenas kicked the ground in confusion. Everybody was gone. Lizzy had vanished from the face of the earth, Claudia, who had quit band anyways, wasn't dropping by like she'd promised. Robin wasn't calling and Ryoko had deserted her section.

Ryoko not showing up hadn't really surprised Anita. It could have been her parents weren't letting her or she could have just been tired of the tuba section. Whatever the case, those four were gone. Anita had also heard rumors about a girl named Diana who'd gone missing. All of this was strange and Anita didn't like it one little bit.

Of course, Anita had no idea that the news flash that night would have anything to do with her friends' disappearances.

She was sitting at her house, glad she didn't have to work that night, ignoring her brothers, one, who was trying to get her to change the channel on the TV, the other who was on the computer, listening to loud drum corps music and answering all questions in monosyllabic grunts, when something caught her eye.

There had been a major robbery at the local gunsmith. Most of the weapons in stock had been taken. There were no clues and no suspects that made any sense. The store windows were unbroken and the only thing found was a gold coin, covered in blood. The blood had been tested and compared with the shop owners but the blood had proven inhuman. The authorities were not able to give any further information.

Anita shrugged and allowed her little brother to have the remote. He changed it to the Simpsons and the news report vanished from her mind.

That night, she dreamt of the movie she'd seen recently, _Pirates of the Caribbean_. She worked at her local theater and had managed to get free tickets to the show her friends had been talking so much about. The dream was not so strange in itself … no, it was fairly normal … but the cast of her dream was very odd indeed. She could not believe her eyes … or, mind rather.

She started out at Will's house, which had to be new because it didn't look like Gov. Swann's house. She saw Robin, Lizzy and Claudia as well as Ryoko's little brother. A guy that looked like DJ was talking to Lizzy and Norrington of course kept showing up. Anita knew it had to be a dream but she didn't wake up. She found that strange seeing as she usually woke once she discovered this.

Her vision moved to _the Pearl _and she searched for Jack but he wasn't there. Diana was however. Anita didn't know how she knew this, having never met the girl, but she did.

And then, she ended up on the island. The first thing she saw was a little boy throwing rocks at gulls. This didn't interest her and the dream moved on to find Ryoko and Jack Sparrow sitting as plain as can be in the sand. She was looking at something on his arm and his face grimaced as if he were in pain. All of a sudden, they looked up and gazed right at her. Ryoko mouthed Anita's name and the dream ended with Anita yelling for Ryoko.

She sat up and almost hit her head on the ceiling. She was on the top bunk of a bed in her own home in the year 2003. It was almost September. And she had four missing friends that she suspected might have gone back in time. But that was crazy right?

"Are you all right?" a voice asked. Anita looked down to find one of her brothers. She must have woken him up with her screaming.

"Yeah, I think," she answered shakily. "I had a weird dream. About ..."

"About your missing friends?" he asked.

"Yeah."

He yawned. "I might expect Ryoko to go missing but I don't know about the others. I don't want to scare you but it's been over a month now. They probably aren't coming back."

She glared at him. "Why are you so negative? You aren't supposed to give up on people like that. Weren't you friends with some of them too?"

He shrugged and disappeared beneath the bunk. Anita expected him to just go back to sleep but he surprised her and actually answered the question. "Elizabeth made fun of me and asked personal questions every time I saw her. Claudia did much of the same, except she hit me or stretched my face. Ryoko … we did nothing but fight, pretty much. She was just so much fun to tease. I had the most interaction with her mainly because we were in the same section." Anita heard him scoff. "The others I didn't know. I met the boy once. If it were just Ryoko … I'd say she ran away and is probably better off. None of my business though, so oh, well."

"Well, I'm still worried," Anita answered, crossing her arms. He didn't reply and Anita couldn't get back to sleep.

—[18th century]—

Lizzy woke up with a headache. She'd been dreaming about her old life and unfortunately, she'd dreamed that she was at band practice. Running laps, doing pushups, playing flute for long hours, and being yelled at for no good reason. That was practice. Robin woke groaning too.

"That was a crazy ass dream," she said, looking at Lizzy. "I was dreaming of Anita but she wasn't doing anything. It was normal. It was weird. She was just ... arguing and watching TV."

"Are you aware that you said it was both normal and weird?" Lizzy asked laughing. Robin shrugged.

"I'm starving," Robin changed the subject. "I want food."

"No, really?" Lizzy asked sarcastically. "I thought you'd like paper for breakfast."

Robin threw a pillow at Lizzy and the fight began. They pummeled each other with the pillows until the room swam with feathers. The little white fuzzies stuck to everything including Lizzy's glasses. When Angelique opened the door, she actually shrieked.

« _Oh! Mais non! Qu'est-ce que vous faites mademoiselles!_ » She shooed them out of the room. «_Zut alors ! Pas de bêtises. Regardez la salle ! Ce n'a pas possible ! »_

"I'm not sure," Claudia said from the doorway. "But I think she said, 'Oh, no! What have you guys done! Rats! No silly things. This isn't possible!"

"That's exactly what she said," Lizzy answered flatly.

…

"Who's Anita?" Jack asked her. Ryoko shook her head and blinked.

"A friend from my home," she answered, still checking his arm. "It's only by luck that she wasn't transported here with us. She might have been there with us if it hadn't been for her other plans."

It was midday on the island and the sun cleaved down to beat upon the white sand and palm trees. Ryoko held up the stone Jack had crushed with an annoyed look and tossed it aside. She then dabbed at his wound.

Jack nodded, wincing again. "If it hurts, say something," she scolded.

"It's fine. It'll hurt for a while. I believe you've sobered me up just with your poking."

"You wanna do it yourself?"

"Sorry," he answered. "I'll stop complaining."

"Should I tie something over it?"

"Nah," he answered. "It'll heal faster if I leave it out." He stood suddenly. She stood and gave him a quizzical look.

"Won't it get infected that way?"

"Follow me, grab the kid," he told her, all a flurry unexpectedly. She called Eric over and they both followed Jack who led them right into the trees.

"Barbossa and his mates are out for now," he explained. "But we can't be on the beach at night. They'll spot us right away and we can't let them find us. They know we're still alive and you can be damn sure they're going to sweep the area. Luckily, I know this island. It's one of a chain that I've used to stash some things. Barbossa doesn't know about it being my stash but that doesn't mean he won't look here. There's a fresh water ... thing back in the trees. I couldn't tell you what it is. It's too small to be a lake, to big to be a pond and I'm not sure how it occurs here but it's there. There are fruit trees and other such things and of course, my stash, which includes rum, gin, wine, you get the idea. There's also water but I wouldn't drink it. Kid, this is your lucky day."

"Jack, I don't think that's a good idea," Ryoko told him, putting Eric behind her. "He's only eleven."

"Old enough for me," Jack retorted smiling. "I started when I was ten. There isn't anything else anyways. I won't let him have the hard stuff."

"You said there was a freshwater ... thing back there," she added.

"I also said I wouldn't drink it," he countered. "I know too many men that have used that water to bathe and I don't care how long ago it was. I'm not drinking their old bathwater."

Ryoko's eyebrows went up. "Point taken."

"We can't have a fire come nighttime," Jack added. "They'd see the light too easily. It'd be a beacon. There's nothing to worry about here anyway. Only gulls come here."

"Obviously you haven't seen "The Birds"," Ryoko joked. "Or we might end up like Prometheus, only our innards won't grow back." She and Eric went and brought the trunk back with them into the trees. Jack opened a felled tree that had been ingeniously hollowed out to contain shelves.

"A mythology reference," he smiled. "I didn't expect it of you."

"Well, I was sort of an expert in my class," she blushed.

"See these?" he motioned to Eric, pointing at bottles with a dark liquid in them. "Those are the only ones you can have because you will get very sick otherwise. Understand?"

The kid nodded eagerly.

"If you take any of the others, I will personally give you back to whoever you ran away from and my threat is good, kid." Eric's eyes grew very wide and he nodded again, though not as eagerly as before.

Jack turned to Ryoko. "You can have whatever you want but I'll warn you. These bottles are the strongest," he pointed to the far left, top self. "I won't even touch those for awhile. I recommend the stuff just up from his bottles. There isn't much of it left but it'll do."

And so, their stay on the island began.

…

Tavington decided to get some fresh air and stretch his legs. Without telling Governor Swann, he started into town to catch up on what he had missed. He passed the jailhouse and spared a sneer for the poor souls within. He read the bulletins and made his judgments on people in the street. He did not however, enter the ladies' house down the street from the jail. He had been forbidden to go there years before and he did not want a repeat performance. He was a changed man, or so he wanted everyone to believe.

He stopped in the street long enough to see two women walking up, a basket held between them. One had long brown hair, tinted gold in the afternoon light. The other had thick dark hair, almost black, and olive skin. They chatted aimlessly as they walked, the basket holding nothing as of yet.

Robin and Claudia had been sent out to get some things for Elizabeth who wasn't allowed to leave the house simply for the man who was watching them. They filled the basket and paid the merchants as was correct and Tavington observed. He rather liked the brown haired one. She looked strong.

On one such occasion, that he was looking at her, Robin turned and met his eyes as if she knew he was behind her. He smiled at her to show he meant no harm and she nodded. She turned her back and continued to walk.

"That guy has been following us for a long time," she whispered to Claudia. "Don't look back or he'll know we suspect him."

"What do you think he wants?" Claudia asked as if she were telling the weather. "_Apples or bananas_?"

"_I'm not giving him apples or bananas_," Robin answered. "_Let's just go home now and if he doesn't like what we brought, we can make him a sandwich_." This was code for, 'let's get outta here and if he tries anything funny, we'll beat the crap out of him or scream rape.'

Robin took the lead and didn't look at the man as she passed, her head held high. Claudia did the same but made the mistake of looking back. He was watching them suspiciously. He held a gleam in his blue eyes that Claudia didn't like. He was dangerous. You just didn't see it until he looked at you.

When they were safely behind Will Turner's gates and walking up the step, Claudia asked the question. "Who was that?"

"I have no idea," Robin told her. "I don't want to know. He is one creepy guy. Looked like he was about to take a bite out of me. Or at least like he was dreaming about doing it."

"Do you think he could be that guy who's after Elizabeth?" Claudia suggested. "Or maybe one of the bounty hunters?" Robin shrugged. Little did either of them know, he was both.

For that was his ticket to Elizabeth's heart as he saw it. Bag the biggest bounty thrown his way in a long time. Grab the Sparrows and deliver them already cooked. Dark or light meat? Don't answer that question.

…

Norrington perked his head up when the knock came. "Come in," he said shortly. Governor Swann entered and shut the door.

"Thank you for getting Elizabeth to understand," he told the man, taking a seat in a leather chair. "She is most difficult at times."

Norrington smiled. "It was my pleasure, Governor. Nothing I wouldn't have done on my own if I had known in time."

The Governor nodded but his face fell a tad grim. "Unfortunately, I did not come here to your office to merely thank you. I must speak to you about a most distressing matter. Why did you remove the warrant for the Sparrows?"

Norrington's smile faded and he began to dig through his desk. "There was more than one reason, but here is a legitimate one once I explain." He unearthed a sheet of parchment and handed it to the Governor.

"That is a list of names of bounty hunters looking after the Sparrows this moment." There were only about five names but one stood out. "Belle Watling, Dante Smith, Vincent Plum, C. Falcon, and Darren C. Tavington."

"You told me that he wanted to redeem himself enough to be worthy of Elizabeth's hand," Norrington added. "I believe that by going after Jack and Scarlette, he is trying to gain her favor. His father was after all a—"

"I know, Commodore, I know," Gov. Swann lamented. "But what have you done about it?"

"I have granted the Sparrows safety while in Port Royal. This means, if he wants to catch the bounty, he must leave Port Royal to do so and if they are here, one of them is more than likely to commit some act that would condemn them again. I am not trying to save their lives per say, but merely using them as an opportunity to rid ourselves of another nuisance."

The Governor nodded, smiling finally. "I like a man who thinks, Commodore. I admit when I saw the notice of their safety here I thought you'd made a mistake but I was the mistaken one. Good day, Commodore." The Governor turned to leave but stopped in the doorway. "Er, Commodore?"

The man looked up from his papers. "Yes, Governor?"

"Have you found someone to escort to the ball yet?"

Norrington smiled. "I have, sir."

Governor Swann smiled. "I should have known you would find one easily. Good day."

"Good day, Governor."

…

Anamaria sighed. "He's got less than a week before we go back to the code."

"You'd leave him?" Diana asked. "Just like that?'

"No, not just like that," Anamaria answered. "I'd feel bad about it but we've got to stick to the code or we're not pirates. Plus, his direct order was to leave if he didn't show in a month."

"A month moored at Isla de Muerta," Diana corrected.

"Well, that gives him two weeks tops. We've been here fifteen days already."

"Has it really been that long?" Diana asked.

"Aye, that it has."

Gibbs moped about the bowsprit, looking longingly out to sea. "I hate bein' stuck here but I'll do anything for Jack. I wonder if he even made it out of the noose."

"Of course he did," Diana told him. "Don't give up hope and if you do, don't do it aloud. You'll crush other peoples' hope."

Gibbs looked at her. "You talk mighty smart fer a woman. Hope you weren't bad luck after all."

"That's the spirit," Anamaria scoffed under her breath.

…

Barbossa and Mei Lin had to do something and fast. _The Dragon _had taken a shot the night of Jack's escape and the two ships had moored in New Orleans, which hadn't been far from the attack.

Blowing the passenger ship sky high hadn't helped matters, for neither _the_ _Dragon _nor the privateer deck had been far enough away to avoid the shock totally. So Barbossa and his men settled in New Orleans while the ships were being looked at. The repairmen had been paid a hefty sum to keep their mouths shut on anything they might have discovered and they were keeping quiet.

Coincidentally, Ragetti and Pintel, everyone's favorite one eyed man and ex-dwarf stumbled in to Rosette's parlor. Seeing their condition, she told them the ladies were off resting but the bar was open. They sat at the stools and drank while chatting about their new favorite subject. Belle Watling.

"She's a real beaut, ain't she," Ragetti slopped, dripping his drink over himself. "I loves tall women."

"You got'a stop wantin' t'ings ya cain't 'ave," Pintel told him.

"I wanted my glass eye an' I got it."

"Yea, but dat was diffrunt. You know it. Belle b'longs ta dat shaggy bloke. Barton, I reckon he's called. I wouldna tangle wit'im. They say he eats rats."

"Oi, Pintel … you reckon rats be one o' dem forbidden meats they was talkin' 'bout? Maybe dis Barton bloke is—"

"Would you stuff it wif de Bible talk already! You can't even read an' all ye've been talkin' bout be that bloody book!"

"Yeah, but I tol' ya b'fore, ya get credit fer tryin' … and we ain't immortal no more … I done some bad things, but dat don't mean I'm all bad … Oi, look, Pintel!" Ragetti pointed. "She's got a picture of ol' Jack Sparrow!" Sure enough, the portrait Jack had spoken of, the one the poster had been modeled from, was stuck to the wall by dagger behind the counter.

Pintel fixed a nasty yellow eye on Rosette. "What's your name, girl?"

"I'm Rosette," she told him "What's it to you?"

"You know anyone named Scarlette?"

"Scarlette Sparrow you mean?"

"Yeah, 'at's the one. You know her and dat rat in da picture?"

"They were just here two nights ago," she answered. "Moved out by now, I reckon. That'll cost you seven bits each."

"Can we pay you in reales?" Pintel asked.

"Sure." He put out fourteen reales, paying for Ragetti who couldn't count to ten if his life depended on it. They left Rosette's place none the wiser except that they thought they were smarter. Better questions would have been "What was he doing here?" "Where was he headed?" and "Do you know anyone else who could give me some information?" but those were other questions for smarter pirates to conquer.

…

It was their third day on the island and Jack's wound was healing at the edges. Ryoko told him that he'd have a scar but he didn't seem to care. It didn't hurt as much anymore, or he'd just gotten used to it.

Eric had pulled the boat up and began sleeping in it, using Jack's torn shirt as his pillow. They had clothing, food, drink and somewhat of a shelter over their heads. No one could ask for more, given the situation. Jack had told Eric to catch a gull and the boy had tried and tried, not having much luck.

"He's never going to catch one of those," Ryoko told him.

"I didn't intend for him to," Jack agreed. "We couldn't eat one anyway. Cooking it would release an odor of roasting meat that would alert Barbossa should he come near."

"So you sent him out there to occupy himself?"

"Precisely."

She shrugged and leaned against a tree to watch. The gulls were toying with the boy, dive bombing him from behind and raking his untidy hair. He would fall over and yell at the birds, only to go chasing after them again.

"How's your arm?" she asked.

"Fine," he grunted. "It's getting darker. We should move back into the trees." He called the boy in and they retreated into the shade of the greenery.

For about a quarter mile, the trees were luscious and thick but the trio had set up a makeshift camp near the fallen tree/cabinet, surrounded by the thick ring of trees. It was a clearing not far from the miniature lake. Neither the clearing nor the little lake could be seen from the shores.

Darkness came quickly that night, the moon barely a crescent, coming back from its black stage. Eric, obviously following the male role model, drank himself to sleep in the little boat.

"See what you've done, Jack?" Ryoko pointed out. "You know you could drink him under the table and beyond. You shouldn't make it a competition. The poor kid is going to be in a world of hurt come morning."

"I noticed you didn't stop him," Jack countered, taking a swig of his own bottle.

"What ever," Ryoko gave up. She couldn't win against Jack, try as she might.

"Do you think anyone's worried about you?" he asked, suddenly serious.

"You mean in the future? Maybe. Anita is I guess. I know a few people who would be. The rest just use me. I have a feeling that if I had been expendable last year, they all would have shown their true colors against me instead of humoring me."

"What about your parents?" he asked. She was quiet for a moment.

"I think my dad hates me," she told him frankly. "Maybe he doesn't hate me, but he doesn't act like he likes me. Everything I do seems to be wrong. I'm the black sheep in his perfect family, I guess. I wear black, he picks on that. I play a bass instrument, he picks on that. I do well in language arts and creative classes, he throws math at me." she tossed a rock into the bushes. "God, I hate math. He wants to move away from home. It'll be far enough away that seeing my friends very often will be a major pain."

"What about your mother?"

"I knew you were going to ask that," she sighed. "My step mother goes along with what he says mostly. It's an argument that I'll never win. I've just got to bide my time until I move out. She's all right sometimes but she just contradicts herself like crazy to the point where I don't know what to say or do to please her. As you may have noticed, I'm not the image of femininity."

He was quiet all through this, taking a drink intermittently. She turned to him and pointed. "It's your turn now. I've met your mom. What about your dad?" She reached into the tree and grabbed a bottle, not really paying attention to which except by staying away from the far left where the "big stuff" was.

"He was a Spaniard born in India with a French-Irish name," Jack said simply. "Quite a swordsman, from what I learned, but a bigger drunk. He had a taste for adventure but was adamantly against piracy, or at least he told my mother so. Didn't seem to stop him from becoming one himself," He took another swig and she opened her bottle, sniffing the liquid.

"I was born in India as well during some venture or other. When I was still young and unspoiled, we moved to New Orleans. He sent me to school in England, the best he could manage. My mother didn't want me going off to Spain so he sent me to London."

"That makes sense," she agreed. "I can see why you've got a better vocabulary than most pirates."

He nodded and she sipped the liquid. It tasted bitterly sweet with an underlying tang somewhere in the mix. She tried it again; noticing that the slight spice it struck wore out the more she drank of it. Soon she was sipping just as if it were a soft drink.

"I guess you could say I didn't like my father either," he added. "He wasn't very faithful to my mother. No one's quite sure how he was killed," Jack paused thoughtfully. "He was found in the river but he'd been stabbed and shot and was covered in burn scars. They only knew him from his jewelry."

"I'm sorry," Ryoko said softly. Jack shrugged.

"Don't be," he told her. "He was a bastard anyway. Did my mother good to be rid of him. He used to joke that she was number fourteen of fourteen wives. I didn't see her much after that. Believe it or not, my turn to piracy was not of my choosing. I was once a cartographer's apprentice with the East India Trading Company. I was swept up in the idea of sailing and through one mistake or adventure after another, I have risen to what you see before you, a notorious Captain. You did say your stepmother, right? What about your mother?"

Ryoko sighed. "I suppose it won't hurt to tell you some of it. I've learned to distance myself from the tale so my emotions don't get in the way of the telling." She took a long drought from the bottle and Jack noticed it. When she put it down, he was laughing.

"You grabbed at the wrong side of the shelf, luv," he pointed to the bottle in her hand. "That's a hefty mix, one of my favorites. It doesn't taste like much but there's more in it than in most. You'll be worse off than the boy come morning if you keep at it."

She smiled at him, her eyes still clear. "I'm not feeling much effect from your bottles, Jack. May I continue?"

"Oh, certainly. By all means, talk," he motioned with his hand and she noticed that he was clearly getting drunker than she was. She didn't even feel the slightest bit woozy.

"She and my dad had gotten divorced a couple years before and my brother and I were living with her. She'd had boyfriends here and there, no one too mean or too nice. She had pretty good judgment concerning us anyway. She was beautiful to me. Of course, every little girl thinks her mother beautiful but she really was. She had long dark hair and dark skin. She was Indian, not from India, but the new colonies. I got most of my looks from her but my golden hair and green eyes came from somewhere else. My dad, of course, though his hair is as black as hers was. Anyways, she had this one boyfriend that seemed all right. I was a kid then and intuition meant nothing to me. If I felt anything weird about him, I dismissed it as my imagination. I don't really remember what I though about him before." She took a drink and breathed deeply.

"He and my mom had been fighting on and off while he was staying with us. It was normal. On night in March, they just started going at it. I closed my door and put a pillow over my head, trying to stifle their voices. I was useless around violence back then. I'd never been around it. I hardened up quick.

"The shouting stopped of course. I can't remember if I went in and saw what had happened or if I imagined the details but my mind had shut down to protect itself. I woke up that morning to find a police officer in my room. He dressed me, tied my shoes the special way. I guess you wouldn't know. Anyways, he wrapped my brother and me up in our blankets and took us out of the house. We were set in my dad's truck and he started the engine and drove off. You look confused."

"I got you until the truck part," he admitted.

"Remember when you first saw us?" she asked. "When there were all those loud things going by really fast in the road? The smaller ones are cars, the bigger ones are trucks. It gets much more complicated but I'm not the one to ask. You want the details on cars and trucks; wait 'till we get back to Port Royal. Nick knows all about them."

They both paused and drank. Ryoko continued.

"Well, I had heard stories about parents kidnapping their kids from each other and I was smart for a kid. I asked him if she knew he was taking us. He just sort of thought about it and told me that our mother had gone away. Now that wasn't too specific for a seven and three year old so we took it to mean she was on a trip and hadn't taken us with her. I didn't really understand until later that day when my aunt came to talk. My mother was dead and I didn't know it." Her face was very serious, the only hint that she might have given to sorrow were her slightly red cheeks, and that might have been attributed to liquor.

"That bastard of a boyfriend had killed her in a rage," Ryoko hissed. "And my father hadn't the courage to tell us outright. That's when I started not trusting my father. That and the fact that he thought I was some fragile little girl. Up until then, he may have been right, but I had strength enough to get through my mother's death and I had my own shell now. No one needed to protect me. I was my own protector even though I was smaller than everyone else was. I'm still small but no one that knows what they're doing seriously messes with me. I've got clowns like you who push my buttons and get my temper but bastards like Barbossa are the ones I'm talking of."

She stopped and drained the last of the bottle. Tossing it away, she concluded. "Emotion is a curse. Don't let on that you care about something and no one will use it against you. They are going to try to use me against you, Jack just because they think they know what's going on. Don't let them use me. I don't mean anything to you. I'm just bait, as Barbossa put it. You may need me to find whatever it is you're looking for but don't let on or we're all done for."

Jack had sat in silence through the last and contemplated what she had said, carefully choosing his words. "You speak from experience. The curse of emotion has run athwart of you before."

"And it has you as well," she pointed out. "You're just as guarded as I am, if not more. I know why you shut your doors. You keep thinking back to the day you first lost _the Pearl _to Barbossa. You never fully trusted anyone again."

"Barbossa wasn't the first one to take that ship from me," he said quietly. "Barbossa pales in the list of men I'd like to end permanently, but there's no reason for you to ever meet half of them. I would kill a man for knowing half of what you know about me, luv. I can't, or rather, _won't _kill you. But I can get you to tell me your big secret."

"I have no secrets," she whispered. "I have only my anger. My whole life I've been promised things, promised happiness or something better to come and every damn time, I get let down, disappointed. Whether it be by my friends, teachers, parents, anybody. Everybody. They swear God loves everyone but why is it every time something good finally happens, it all gets torn away like that scab on your arm. Every time I start to heal, they tear the wound up again. It'll only be so long until my patience is bled out."

She hit the ground with her fist, disturbing a bit of dust that settled powdery fine along the bottle. She leaned her head back and squeezed her fingernails into her palms. She would not cry in front of this man, not if she could help it. Once she calmed herself enough, she glanced back at him.

"You want to know my secret? I'll tell you. Someone I trusted got through all my defenses and I thought I was safe. Finally, someone understood because they had the same philosophy. I willingly let them in and didn't guard myself. I did what everyone was urging me to do. Open up, let someone in. You know what happened? The one person I thought could never hurt me because we were too alike, did worse than anyone else did. They knew exactly how it was and they still devastated me. I would never knowingly do that to someone and anyone who would, shouldn't be around to hurt people."

The tears finally fell, warm and sultry, falling down her tanned face without a sound to mingle with the sand below. She knew that if he touched her now, the salt filled droplets might never stop but she didn't care.

He moved over and pulled her into his arms, moving the left one a bit slower. She turned away at first but he was persistent. She finally gave in and curled against him, hiding her face from the world as he protected the rest of her.

After awhile, the tears did stop and she halfway pulled away from him. She felt vulnerable afterwards and ended up against him again, his arms securely around her waist. She closed her eyes and just basked in his warmth.

One of his hands began to trace a circle on her hip, the thin cloth of the breeches she was wearing not much for blocking the sensation. She was content enough that this did not disturb her nor did the warmth of his lips against the back of her neck. She turned in his arms, perhaps to ask what he was doing, but she was not given the chance. He met her mouth and sealed it with his own. Her surprise almost broke through but he was not satisfied to let it stop there. His lips met hers with varying pressure, backing off to short, soft teasing bits of contact and deepening to long, openmouthed kisses that left them breathless.

Her arms went up around his neck and he smiled against her mouth. "This is definitely a change." She looked at him from inches away, this time her green eyes bearing no anger. He took her at her glance and pressed his lips to hers in a most demanding way. He leaned until she was against the sand, and he above her, locked at the mouth and then she opened her lips, letting him through.

His hands were working all the while, unbuttoning the loose shirt she wore, each button slipping away signifying the last strands of his control. The shirt came away and he ran his hands down her pale chest, his darker skin stark against hers. He hesitated over the bra and stopped to look at it, sliding a finger below the under wire and running over the scars patterned there. He touched the larger scar below her left collarbone.

Looking at her face, he knew he mustn't stop for any length of time or they might leave that clearing hating each other. He merely ran his rough hands down her stomach, stopping at her waistband. He pressed his warm lips to her throat and she gasped as he slid his fingers past the line of the breeches. He met the resistance of another type of futuristic garment, elastic. This was easily conquered and he massaged her lower abdomen, enjoying her gasps before going any farther. He dragged his hand away from her stomach and met her lips with a new fervor, mainly to distract from what was about to happen.

He pulled the strings on her breeches and easily coaxed them down without any resistance. She was well distracted, running her hands down his firm tanned chest. He placed a knee between her legs and forced them apart, lying between them, allowing her to grasp the full situation. She gasped and tried to draw a breath but he stole it and explored her mouth some more. Her warm little hands were traveling down his back like butterflies, softly caressing. He wanted her attention elsewhere now and he gave a gentle shove against her lower body to draw it there.

Her hands became quiet, resting lightly at his waist. He moved to go further and she stopped his hand, her fingers barely going around his wrist.

"I can't go any further than this," she whispered quietly. He grinned and kissed her again, forcing his tongue into her mouth. She turned her head away from him and said in a clearer voice. "Either you're drunker that I think you are or you're under the impression that _I_ am. Enough, Jack. This is a bad idea."

He lowered his lips to her throat and she gave a shiver. If he kept this up for long, she wouldn't be able to stop him. She placed her hands firmly on his shoulders and attempted to push him off. He grinned, his drunken smile holding more than one might expect, and rolled, moving off her like a large playful cat. She stood, staggering a bit and slid her breeches up, tying them securely. She sat down again and closed her eyes. She fell asleep and slid down the tree, falling in a line. Jack stretched out beside her and they both slept.

…

Mei Lin was not about to stay in New Orleans if she could help it. She knew Jack was hiding somewhere out at sea but as for where she couldn't guess. She stole a small sloop and set off, ignoring the shouts from the dock.

"Relax, gents," Barbossa growled from his place by a post. "She'll bring it back once she finds what she wants."

Mei Lin didn't know much about ships but she knew enough to maneuver her way out to sea. It had been dark for hours and Mei Lin crossed her arms in despair. She was lost and her childish impulse to go and find Jack had failed.

The sloop drifted without guidance, rising gently with the swells. Mei Lin drifted off with it, the waves lulling her to sleep. She curled in a little ball, her knees drawn up to her chin and she slept, her straight black hair covering her shoulders in a shiny film.

She woke with the dawn and started her futile chore again, not knowing if she was heading in the right direction or not. Her upturned eyes searched the horizon inexorably but she found nothing. Mei Lin spent another hard-floored night in the bottom of the sloop and well past midnight, the moon almost half-full now, she woke to the sensation of the hull scraping sand. She popped her head above the gunwale and her sight fell on an island.

She smiled for the first time in days and jumped from the sloop, her little feet not making a sound as she pattered over the sand.

She perched silently in a tree and listened, fear gripping her like a hand at the things she heard. The song she was hearing made her want to run and hide.

…

Ryoko woke gradually, aware that the sun had been up for a while. She was fully clothed and she was warm. She drew in a deep breath and felt arms tighten around her waist, pulling her close against a firm body. That woke her up far enough to realize her head was going to split. She turned to find Jack, propped up on his elbow, his shirt carelessly untucked and unbuttoned, showing his flat chest off. He kept a hand on her waist and looked at her strangely.

She raised an eyebrow, pulled herself to her feet, and stumbled off to the shore, her stomach heaving and her head splitting.

She dropped to her knees and cast onto the sand, only bringing up liquid. There was something exploding behind her eyes that made her vision blurry and indistinct, as if there were a creature in her skull trying to get out. She finally sat on her legs, bent over her knees, her head resting in the sand.

Jack watched her from the edge of the tree line, leaning calmly against a palm tree. The liquor sat well with him from the night before, his head barely throbbing. She stood and walked past him not even glancing at him. He followed her back into the tree line where she sat down by the felled tree.

"Remind me not to drink so much," she whispered, leaning her head against the tree. "My brain is trying to escape through my eye sockets and I've never thrown up that violently before in my life. How's Eric doing?"

"He's fine," Jack answered. "He got up and went about his business like usual. His drink didn't seem to stick to him much. He has a faster metabolism than we do. I told you you'd have a rough time of it last night."

"You did?" she muttered absently. She yawned and made herself more comfortable against the tree. "I don't really remember much of last night. How much did I drink?"

Jack help up a bottle and sat on the tree above where she was leaning. "One of these and you'd had something earlier. This is a mix of stuff, the flavors canceling each other out, giving it a sweet enough taste that the liquor is masked. You don't even realize how much is gone until the bottle is empty. Very good for rookies like you, though I wouldn't recommend drinking the whole bottle."

"You're going to make an alcoholic out of me," she yawned. Eric ran up, his little voice highly excited. "Stop chittering at me! I have a headache and you're a soprano!"

"Scarlette, Scarlette! Look what I found! Come see!" She knotted her brows and looked up at Jack.

"Didn't we tell him my real name?"

"A name's a name, Ryoko or Scarlette, you're branded either way."

"But I'm not your wife," she pointed out, allowing the child to pull her from the ground.

He gave her a strange little smirk. "Was last night your first blackout?"

She shrugged. Eric was tugging on her hand and she was slowly being pulled away by the insistent child. "I remember talking to you and drinking but after that, my mind's blank. I don't even remember what we were talking about." She turned and followed the child.

Jack laughed and shook his head. She didn't remember. Nothing had changed between them in her eyes and he found that hilarious and just slightly wearisome. He shook his head again. It would probably be the last time that anything like that occurred. She wouldn't get that drunk again and if she did, she wasn't likely to black out. He almost wished he'd ignored her protests for he was sure he could have won her over with a few more minutes of coaxing.

He slid down to lean against the tree. "Oh, well. Maybe it's a good thing she doesn't remember. She'd probably slap me for it if she didn't shoot me first."

…

Eric led Ryoko off into the clearing and past the lake. He made sure she was following and disappeared into the foliage.

"Hey, wait for me," she cried, looking though the small opening in the trees. She squeezed through and her eyes widened. There was another small clearing almost completely encompassed by the trees forming a sort of cage made out of rough bark. There was a trap door in the center of the clearing and Eric was pulling on the handle he'd uncovered. The thing was obviously locked and she didn't see any means of opening it. Eric went to fetch Jack while she wandered around the confined space.

She pressed a hand to the roughened bark of one of the trees and blinked away the dizziness still encompassing her brain. She shook her head and frowned. It seemed she'd been waking up beside Jack now for days, weeks … and it still surprised her every time. However, she no longer felt like panicking when he got too close. What was happening to her?

Eric returned then, followed by Jack. Upon seeing the pirate, she frowned again and turned away.

"Well, you've discovered it," he said through the trees. "I wasn't going to tell you about it yet. That will be our hideout when Barbossa shows up. You and the kid are going to get down inside there while I cover the top enough to disguise it."

"And what are you going to do?" she asked. "Stand upon it and fight to the death?"

"No," he answered. "I'm going to run off into the water and swim. There's a cave underneath this island that comes up right there. I'll show you." He squeezed through the opening in the trees and pulled the door open easily. It hadn't been locked but that had been the appearance. The door stopped halfway open and hung there with a certain stiffness. He bade them to follow and Ryoko glanced down into the pit, not trusting the musty scent rising from its depths. Eric had already scampered down and was yapping excitedly.

Ryoko didn't really want to go down into the pit but Jack held his hand out for her, waiting patiently as if he could wait there forever. She took his hand, and allowed him to pull her down into the pit after him.

The cave below included a bed, a hammock, and several boxes of miscellaneous stuff. Plenty of gold and other treasure littered the place and Eric was going wild. There was a drop off, the granite floor giving way to a gradual slope that disappeared beneath the water. Light from the sun bounced off the sandy bottom and lit up the cave, giving the illusion that the water was one wavering light. There were wall sconces with old oil lamps and plenty of other necessary objects.

"But doesn't your old crew know about this island?" she asked him, the light glinting off her face.

"Not about this cave," he answered. "They know about the tree and the lake but this cave was my own little discovery. I furnished it and put everything down here. We should move the contents of the tree down here as well in case we've got to make a run for it." And that was their project for the next hour. They ferried the bottles down to the cave as well as the boxes that had been in the back of the shelves hidden by the bottles. By the time they finished, the sun was setting.

"I must have really overslept this time," Ryoko noticed. "The sun is already going down."

She stretched her arms above her head and something occurred to her. She looked at her arms and legs, or what she could see of them and decided she really needed a bath.

She waited until Eric was out dead, sleeping in the hammock below. She told Jack where she was going and he told her he'd sit with his back to her, making sure their buddies in the ships didn't arrive just in time for the show.

She wasn't sure why but she trusted him not to look. Digging through the boxes, she'd found some lye soap, which usually didn't smell the greatest but must have been made with rose petals for the perfume and the color. She knew that the petals could be crushed and added to the lye before baking the soap and she was grateful for something other than water.

She smiled as she put a foot gingerly into the water. It was lukewarm with the Caribbean heat and would suit her just fine. She washed her hair, doing as best she could with the lye, trying not to get the corrosive soap in her eyes. Her skin could take it but her eyes could not. She hummed absently to herself, a song she knew from her time.

"Does that song have any words?" Jack asked from the darkness, startling her into remembering that he was there. She looked at him to make sure he was facing the other direction.

"It does, but I can't understand them," she admitted. "They're in Chinese."

He smiled in the dark. "Sing the words and I'll tell you what they mean." He did not hear Mei Lin who had just beached the sloop at the shore.

Ryoko hesitated but shrugged and began to sing. She liked the song because it sounded mournful, though she couldn't understand the lyrics. As she sang, Mei Lin launched herself into the tree and was just in time to hear it. She froze at its haunting melody and trembled. It was a ghost song, she felt. A song not to be sung, for the lyrics, nothing unusual in Ryoko's time, caused fear in this time. A song of omen and Mei Lin, not seeing Jack yet, took Ryoko to be a ghost, her pale flesh illuminated by the moonlight, giving her a frightening luster in the other woman's eyes.

Mei Lin tried to slide down the tree in silence but her fear made her clumsy. Her foot snapped a branch and the ghost's eyes searched her out in the darkness.

Jack was up and running, searching out the girl in the dark. He loomed dark and ominous against the moon and all Mei Lin could think of was fear. She couldn't see Jack's face or anything else, his dark silhouette against the moon freezing her on the spot. He looked rather like a wild barbarian monster to her frightened eyes.

He pinned her to the ground easily, twisting her arms around and bringing her towards the water. Ryoko had sunk herself into the water until everything she didn't care to show was covered. Her hair spread out in the water spookily.

Jack pulled Mei Lin in her green silk into the clearing, the moon showing against her clothing and skin in an almost ethereal light.

"What's she doing here?" Ryoko asked. "Are the others here?"

"I'm going to check. You'll have to hold her," he dragged a bit of rope that dangled from a tree and fastened Mei Lin's wrists together. He did the same to her ankles and motioned.

"Jack," Ryoko began.

"Now don't let her move or she could get away. We don't want her warning her friends."

"Jack!"

"Better yet, sit on her. I'm sure you weigh enough to keep her down."

"JACK!"

"What?"

"_I'm naked_! I'm not holding anyone down!"

He grinned and shook his head. "Whoever said modesty was what made a woman. Here." He slipped the shirt off and tossed it to her. She caught it before it hit the water, stood in the shallow part and slipped it on in one fluid motion so that nothing was really seen, save for short glimpses. The shirt, like always, went well past her thighs and covered everything a 21st century girl would care about.

She stepped onto the sand and Mei Lin watched her come with large frightened eyes. Jack watched her too, but it wasn't fear on his face. Ryoko knew from watching too many martial arts movies that Mei Lin was dangerous even pinned. Ryoko rolled her onto her back and sat on her thighs while keeping her hands on the girl's shoulders. The result was Mei Lin and she having very close eye contact, the Indian's hair dripping water into the Chinese's clothing and hair.

Mei Lin still thought she was staring into a ghost's face when Ryoko began to speak. "What are you doing here?" She spoke slowly

Mei Lin tried not to speak but the ghost had asked her a question. She must answer the ghost or feel her wrath. She spoke in Chinese rapidly but Ryoko shook her. Mei Lin let forth a squeak. The ghost was angry.

"Speak English," Ryoko told her clearly.

"Mei Lin … no … I sorry. Don't hurt ... I don't hurt ... you."

"You won't hurt me?" Ryoko asked. "Why?"

"I ... can't, don't understand all. Need more words." Obviously, her English left her with her fear.

"Mei Lin," Ryoko whispered, bringing shivers from the other girl.

"You know name? How?"

"Jack told me."

"Sparrow? You are ... Sparrow's ... helper?"

"… Yes."

"Well, its all clear," Jack assessed, re-entering the clearing. "Only the sloop is on the beach and I looked around. No one else is out there."

Ryoko looked up from her spot. "Can I let her up now? She's terrified."

Jack frowned. "What of?"

"I can't figure that out. She isn't talking much sense, not in English anyways." Ryoko stood carefully and Jack hoisted Mei Lin to her feet, balancing her between the two of them. He spoke to her rapidly in Chinese, which sounded strange coming from him.

He laughed shortly. "She thinks you're a ghost. She said you were singing a bad song. Ryoko the ghost, better yet, Scarlette, the ghost that aids Jack Sparrow. That's good. It might scare some of the more persistent idiots away."

"That sounds retarded."

"Maybe to you, but these men are a rather superstitious lot."

Mei Lin spoke again, her eyes widening. Jack looked at the other girl. "I didn't know your name meant Demon Caller. It makes sense."

"Yeah, I call demons named Jack Sparrow," she said. "It also means two headed dragon but she shouldn't know that. Ryoko is Japanese."

Jack shrugged. "I guess she speaks a little. I certainly don't. She is absolutely terrified of you and I think we can use that to our advantage." He spoke to Mei Lin and she talked back, biting at him acridly with her quick tongue. Ryoko didn't understand but she caught that she wasn't cooperating. Jack gave Ryoko a look and smirked. He spoke again and the girl cringed, speaking softly. Jack, under that wonderful tan, paled.

"What's wrong," Ryoko asked warily.

"He's in New Orleans," Jack answered in a strained monotone. Ryoko understood immediately.

"We have to draw him away from there!" she exclaimed. "We don't know what he might do if he finds out you have a mother there!"

"Are we to draw him here?" Jack pressed her. "Would you really risk your life for someone you just met?"

"You don't understand," Ryoko told him. "No one deserves to lose a mother, not even you, Jack. I know how it is and I can't let that happen to anyone."

Jack regarded her with a strange interest, his dark eyes realizing who she really was. This girl, or woman depending on what time you put her in, was both part of Jack's threat and his weakness. He hadn't realized it but it had been true ever since she'd been dragged onto Barbossa's privateer ship.

She'd killed six men to get away from being raped but no woman's actions were acknowledged unless through men. What Barbossa's men saw was a woman who _belonged_ to Jack Sparrow killing their compatriots. This made Jack look even bigger, for surely no woman that belonged to a man was better than he was.

Jack ran this through in his head and came up with a plan that just might work, if done right. He whipped out a dagger and sliced quickly through Mei Lin's ropes.

"What are you doing?" Ryoko asked him. He ignored her and freed Mei Lin's ankles as well, moving back immediately to get out of range of her kicks.

"I'm letting her go because she's bound to tell Barbossa where we are." He spoke quickly to Mei Lin and pointed. She glanced at Ryoko and ran off, flying quickly through the night, silently passing through the thick air.

"Why did you let her go? Do you want to be discovered?"

He looked at her tiredly. "I have but a week and a half to get us back to the _Pearl_. By letting Barbossa come under my terms, I can guarantee that the deadline is met. I told her that you would set upon her your wrath if we died any place other than Isla de Muerta, where the _Pearl _is moored. My ship can annihilate both those ships. Barbossa is taking us to the cave of course so that he can kill us. He's wanted to do it for so long that he'll prolong it."

"So he's coming here to capture us?"

"Yes but we've a change in plans. We still can't use fire because he's too smart for that. If he sees it, he'll know we're up to something and he may kill us on sight, or kill me at least. There are still uses for conquered women." He grinned, motioning for her to follow. He led her back down into the cave and shut the trap door, spilling them into darkness.

"I can't see anything!" Ryoko muttered, putting her hands out in front of her. Everything was silent and she was slightly frightened, though not enough to bother calling out or something silly like that. Jack was deliberately trying to frighten her, the way she saw it. He found it to be a test.

He knew exactly where everything was in the cave and knew that Eric was passed out again. The kid slept so soundly it was nearly impossible to wake him up. He woke up when his body had had enough rest.

Anyways, Ryoko was wandering around the room with her hands out, refusing to let her fear persuade her to call for Jack. He could hear her, moving her feet, barely leaving the floor so not to step into anything. He heard a splash and a groan and knew she'd stepped into the water.

Another sound echoed across the cave and it confused him. He realized she was moving clothes around and he heard her sigh in relief. He grinned in the dark and moved toward her as silently as he could manage. She was facing away from him and when he put his arms around her, she couldn't retaliate. She gave a little yip that is exclusively a girl noise and scoffed when she realized she'd done it.

He knew the reason for the sound. She'd found a pair of breeches, obviously tired of wearing just the shirt. Rather than telling him to let go, she began to untangle herself from his arms. He smirked and refused to release her.

"Jack," she started. "Are you going to let me go?"

"Maybe," he answered condescendingly. "If I feel the time's right for it."

"And when will that be?" she groaned.

He only laughed, his breath raising the hairs along her body in a wave.

"Either you're drunk or you think I am." It seemed to be a phrase she used a lot, with minor changes depending on the situation.

"Neither, luv," he whispered. He began to move, forcing her to walk with him. The world was turned upside down to where she didn't know up from down. He'd sat down and taken her with him and now she was thoroughly confused.

She knew she must be on the bed for nowhere else in the cave could have the texture and volume of what was beneath her. A rough hand closed around one of her wrists, pulling her forward, another hand going to the back of her neck.

She felt him looming in the dark and knew he was moving closer. "What do you think you're doing?"

He laughed and pulled her up to him, sitting her on his knees, her feet dangling above the floor. "You've got to live a little, luv," he told her easily. "We may die after the two days it takes them to sail this far and you're still being stubborn."

"Stubborn?" she asked, slightly peeved. "Stubborn you say. What do you want me to do? Lie down and let you have whatever you want? Do you think just because you're Jack Sparrow I'm going to fall for your charms like every other woman but Elizabeth? Oh, boy. Let me tell the world. Get in line to have a night with the infamous Jack Sparrow." She moved her arms with the words in a grand gesture.

"_Captain _Jack Sparrow," Jack commented in the darkness. Ryoko seethed and tried to get away again. He stopped her with ease of course.

"Sometimes I wonder if you even consider me as a friend," Jack told her, his words seeming more intimate than normal in the close darkness. "You are so cruel but I put up with it because I need you."

"I'm cruel?" Ryoko scoffed. "You turn everything into a suggestive meaning and it drives me insane!"

"Would it really pain you so much to be with me for a night?" Jack asked in an amused sort of way.

"Yes, it would," she told him in fact. Her face was a brilliant shade of red and luckily, it was too dark to see.

"Why?"

It was sort of an odd question but she answered it. "I don't love you, Jack," she told him. "And I know you don't love _me_, not that anyone would."

"Why must it be about love?" he asked. "Why must women complicate things?"

"Jack, some things need complication! I will not be your wench! I don't even know if I'm stuck in this time or not. If I become more than ... what I already am to you then what happens if I go back to the future?"

"You can't go back until the prophecy is fulfilled," Jack told her. "We know nothing about where this heir is. I say it again. What if the heir isn't born yet?"

"That is not my problem," Ryoko told him, truly believing her words. "And I do know what you're getting at. I am not having kids. Not yours, not anyone's, and especially not in the 18th century. Do you see how small I am? Petite women did not birth very well in this time! I can't believe we're even talking about this! Ask Anamaria to give you an heir. She might agree and she's better built for it."

She could feel him laughing in the dark. "Are all future women like this?"

"No, you just got lucky," Ryoko enlightened him. She was protecting her own emotions by fighting. She had sworn long ago that she would not be bested ever again in a war of hearts.

"How can you kill a man, even six men, and seven if you count Abuta, but get prudish when it comes to things like this?"

"That was self defense. They would have raped me or what all if I hadn't stopped them first. I realize you might do the same if I keep refusing, though I don't think that's in your nature."

"Only when all participants are drunk," he muttered. She ignored the comment, not knowing how close she'd come to making that statement true the night before.

"Jack," she told him, her voice tired. "I will play your wife, wench, woman, whatever you call it because that's pretty much who everyone assumes I am by now and in certain scenarios, it is safer than being something else, but until further notice, nothing in the way of ... your heir by means of me will be attempted. I certainly don't hate you. In fact you're probably one of my closest friends right now but I just can't sign myself over to you and this century just yet or even ever if it comes to that. I'm sorry."

"If you are going to play my wife, you need to make it believable," he whispered in the dark, taking what he could. "You blush too easily and are reluctant to the touch, though you're reluctant with anyone's touch, not only mine. I've noticed Lizzy hugging you or Will touching your shoulder. You've been hit one too many times, haven't you?"

He couldn't see it but he knew her jaw had dropped. "How did you know? I didn't tell you, did I?"

"No," he answered. "I know because I used to be that way. There was more than one reason why I didn't mourn my father's death as much as some would have wished."

"I'm sorry," she answered in a small voice.

"You don't need to fear me, luv," he told her. "I won't hurt you physically, however, we do need to work on your acting skills and my critique is brutal. You don't walk like a pirate's wench, let alone one that belongs to me. You need to have a swagger and an air. Show off your body even through the yards of cloth you wear."

"I don't need to act all the time," she mentioned. "Only when disguise is needed, right?"

"Wrong," he contradicted. "Any pirate or man that knows you are mine will not touch you. My threat is strong in the Caribbean and to be protected by it means utter shielding."

She nodded, her hair brushing his face. The darkness prevailed and even after the hour they'd been below, their eyes hadn't adjusted. There wasn't any light to adjust to. The lamps couldn't be lit with the hatch shut for there was no vent for the smoke to escape by.

"So what do I need to work on?" she asked, defeated, knowing she had somewhat dug her own grave in this endeavor.

"Well, I've noticed that you've gotten used to sitting on my knees by now," she was blushing, though he couldn't see it. "Stop blushing."

"How do you know I'm blushing?"

"I know you."

"Lucky me," sarcasm, of course. "I'll have you know that my school mates thought I was a spectacular actress."

"I'll bet. Now, you need to be calm through things like this or it will never work. Barbossa's pirates are gullible but other's aren't so stupid. You'll have to convince my crew as well and they aren't so dim in the head as Barbossa's idiots. Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be considering I don't know what you're going to do," she said honestly. He grinned in the dark and she knew it. She knew him as well.

"Don't blush and don't let on. Pretend it's nothing." The first thing she felt were his hands at her waist. He pulled her up to his chest putting her eyes even with his. Their height differences made eye contact easy and she could actually see his face a little. Then, quite suddenly, he tipped her into the crook of his arm and had her down on the bed, her head pooled in her own hair. On of his hands was around her thigh and she could feel his breath against her ear.

"You're blushing," he whispered, his voice making her shiver. "And you are trying not to frown. What happened to your spectacular acting skills?"

"Jack Sparrow," she told him. "You are a rogue."

"At least you didn't slap me," he answered. "In fact, I would never do this in front of anyone, but I might do this." And before she could ask him what, he followed her breathing and found her mouth. In his opinion, their drunk kisses had been much better than this because she completely froze with his contact and he pulled away.

"That really needs help," he told her.

"Sorry," she answered in a sulkish tone, trying to keep her temper at bay. "I haven't had much practice. As much as I'd hate to admit it, I've only really been kissed once. No one knows about it because I never told anyone who it was. The other three times were all stupid accidents. Once, a boy fell on me, another time, a guy was drunk, and then there was you on the ship. I'm not what you'd call the ideal woman in the 21st century, or even less so here. It's pathetic! I'm seventeen!"

"It could be worse," he told her. "You could be horribly ugly and overweight with pimples all over the place and hair in unlikely places like on your tongue or in between your toes."

"Please tell me you're not describing someone you know," she said. He laughed and kissed her cheek unexpectedly. It was on with the lesson.

By the end of another hour, Ryoko had had enough of it. She suspected he was putting her through this, tricking her, simply because he could. She caught herself thinking about an English author who'd written a scale for kissing out of ten. She berated her self for thinking such things and shut her eyes, though the room was dark.

Her mind would not sit still. She imagined answering questions her friends asked her. "So when, where, and who was your first French?"

"In the 1800's, in a dark cave, and a pirate captain who is the identical copy of Johnny Depp." She almost started laughing at the absurdity of it. Of course, she also laughed at the irony that she was in a place that many girls would kill to be in and she didn't exactly want to be there.

That always seemed to happen. When she'd found out that her pants size was a three, she got mad because she had to buy all new pants when most of the girls in her group were fives or sevens or up. Her bra size had gone up and she wasn't exactly happy about that either but everyone else was envious (well, not everyone else. She thought Robin was bigger than she was, possibly) A C wasn't that big. She swore she was ugly when she really had a refreshingly interesting face. Her voice could go from the tip of the tenor range to the middle of the soprano range. If she had any other person inside her, say maybe a girly cheerleader, she could have been the star of her school. Instead, inside that petite, beautiful, gifted little body, was an outgoing, highly eccentric tomboy that didn't give a shit what anyone thought of her.

Or maybe she cared too much.

She stretched out on the bed and got into a comfortable position. She knew Jack was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling he couldn't see and she didn't bother to tell him to behave himself. It didn't matter how they fell asleep, she would wake pressed against him with his arms firmly clamped about her waist. It was how she had awaken the four days they'd been on the island and she knew that if she continued to share a bed with the mischievous captain that it was probably how she'd wake up from that point on. She realized with an odd peace that it didn't bother her much.

…

Barbossa was sitting in a pub, dubbed the Purple Parrot. He couldn't drink anything or order anything but the smell of the rum in front of him calmed his nerves. Mei Lin had been gone for four days (two to get there, two to come back, which means Jack and Ryoko actually had four days to prepare). When she came striding into the pub, Barbossa was actually happy to see her.

"Hi, Big Beard," she addressed him.

"What did you find?" he asked her.

"I find Jack and woman," she answered. "She is China ghost. Very bad to cross."

"She's a demon caller?" Barbossa asked. "Ryoko, I think her name was."

"Yes. Bad to cross. Said that only if die in Island of Death, she not come hurt. Jack too."

"So we kill them at Isla de Muerta," Barbossa answered to the point. "I was planning on it anyway, a bit of irony in my revenge. Where are they?"

"Island, small, two days."

"He must be in the Sallow series of islands. Do you remember which one?"

"One with little lake. Many trees, big one on ground."

"Ah, his favorite. I should have known. Are you coming with us for the voyage?"

"I no go," Mei Lin told him adamantly. "I not cross Ghost Ryoko. She is Jack's protector."

"And vice versa, I daresay," Barton commented, moving up behind her. "Ryoko is no ghost. Do you want to know what I found out? Ryoko, alias Scarlette, is Jack's wife according to the local whorehouses. You'll also be pleased to know that a certain Captain has a mother in town."

"Are you certain?" Barbossa asked, leaping to his feet. "That thar be blackmail by the bundle! A mother, here! Well, it'll have to wait as a backup plan. If we can't kill him this time, we'll use it, but I really hope it don't come that far. You see, I had a mother once and not even I would stoop that low fer anyone but Sparrow. What about Ryoko?"

"His wife," Barton answered. "There were witnesses aboard the ship they came in on that they weren't acting like brother and sister, as they were presumed to be. Later on, I learned that Jack and Scarlette made a little visit to a cottage bungalow down at the south side of town. This would be his mother's house."

"And how did you obtain this information?" Barbossa asked.

"I tapped into a woman's mind," he explained. "You can do it too. Ragetti told me of a woman that had seen the two and I merely went to extract more information. Apparently, after rescuing the girl from us, he married her."

Barbossa laughed a tinny growl that struck a nasty chord throughout the pub. Men turned their heads to find the voice and quickly turned back once meeting his cold brackish eyes as briny as the sea.

He strode out of the pub, leaving his drink where it sat. He'd done nothing more than take a gulp, swish it around in his mouth and oust it in the spittoon a few feet away.

They returned to the privateer, which now had a name. Barbossa had decided ironically to call it _the Black Opal _for obvious reasons. The new lettering on the side struck a certain pride within his ebon heart and he grinned, showing off grimy teeth, the two pointed canines lighter than the rest. He boarded the ship and set out the call for all hands to return to deck. A few men were sent out to retrieve their comrades and at about 11:30, all hands were on deck.

"Gents," he growled. "And dame for Miss Belle. We be headin' out to the Sallow islands. The Sparrows, yes, that is plural, are on one of them and we be finally givin' that scallop what he deserves."

"What do you mean plural?" Twigg asked derisively.

"Gents, Jack Sparrow has become a tamed man," Barbossa grinned. "It appears the woman that killed six of our number has done it. Next time you see her, she'll be Mrs. Sparrow to you, and soon after, the widow Sparrow. I'll not be killin' her just yet and I don't expect you to touch her. She's too dangerous."

"A woman, dangerous?" Grapple scoffed, not dead after all.

"You'd better believe it, Grap, or else you might be one who gets killed by her. She's part of Jack's battery, no doubt. Only a man as mad as he could have landed one like her. In fact, I believe they be two of a kind. She's just as crazy as he is! But we know how to deal with them, do we not, gents?"

There were jeers and laughter. The pirates nodded as if he'd said something profound. He clapped his hands, commanding their attention again.

"Weigh the anchors, hoist the sails, man the decks, rigs, and the helm for we're off to the Sallow Islands."

And _The Black Opal _set sail, leaving _The Poison Dragon _in the harbor of New Orleans.

…

Little Previews of sorts?

Robin, Lizzy, and Claudia are getting ready for the ball. Will is trying to keep Elizabeth patient, David is becoming more and more prominent in Lizzy's mind, Tavington is springing out of the woodwork, Norrington and Gov. Swann are waiting, Nick is becoming more and more bored by the second, and Gillette is looking for a date.

…

Anamaria and Gibbs are anxiously counting the days while Diana mopes about, her mood and motive unknown. Jack the monkey has taken to hanging around her and she welcomes him. The monkey does not like the midget.

…

Anita Arenas is not doing well in school. She keeps falling asleep in class and dreaming of the past, where her friends seem to be dominant.

…

The Maxwell family of the 21st century has moved away from California to another state where two other girls have started having strange dreams about the movie, which uncannily includes five future girls and one boy. These girls are named Heather Cook, and Kristin Thornburg.

…

Mei Lin and her Asian crew bunk down in the _Dragon _as the reparations take place. The boat is being careened and caulked for voyage. Barbossa, Barton, and Belle are sailing hard towards the Sallows.

…

There's a storm in my pants.

…

And our friends Jack, Ryoko, and Eric are still on the largest Sallow, where Ryoko is just now beginning her lessons in sword fighting and romantic acting.

…

Stay tuned. A disclaimer to Sean Wilson-Luckinbill for reasons not yet stated. A disclaimer to the Purple Parrot, which is actually a cigarette and gambling store in Oregon. I just liked the name and thought it fit well with the fic. A page count leaves us at … 148!

_Au revoir_, until next time.

"Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" That is the most HORRIBLE line in the WORLD! We took that scene to Regional acting competition and I gargled it on our last performance and got counted down for articulation. Any way, the best two group acting ... movie scenes, Labyrinth and Pirates of the Caribbean were shot down brutally by the witches in Macbeth. Oh well. There's always next year ... hee hee.

Oh … well, I suppose I might as well tell you. This chapter was actually about a page longer because the scene with the ... drinking where Ryoko opens up her mind was ... longer before. The events conducted in the first cut of the chapter were ... very R rated. I didn't like them. They weren't … bad. They just didn't need to be there. If you want this special ... scene, I'll send it to you, but I warn ye, it might give you a stomach ache ... or worse. 0_0 _

**Revisited Gossip?**

Well, not gossip really. Just updates. I just finished acting in Peter Pan … I was a pirate, of course. I played Cookson, the pirate who, if anyone's seen or read the originals, after Starkey, Jukes, and Cecco die, accuses Hook of being the Jonah. I also got to guard Wendy and almost throw her overboard! I wrote the music for the pirates entrance and helped big time with costuming and make up, doing the war paint for most of the Indians (full body paint for the men) and Hook's make up. It was fun. Now I'm doing _The Hobbit_ and I'm playing Essie the Troll … they're putting me up on stilts and stuff … it's going to be fun. Not only that, but I'll be doubling as a drummer once again (I was the drummer for the Indian dance scene in Peter Pan and now I get to be a Goblin drummer.)

Revisited on 10-27-03 … page count is … 216.


	10. Chapter IX : Proposas that Put a Crick

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

Drink and the devil had done for the rest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

~Robert Louis Stevenson, "Treasure Island" The words of old Billie Bones.

(And I guess now it's the words of Joshamee Gibbs in PotC;DMC)

Well, a lot's happened since last we left. I've been expanding my knowledge of ships and the like by reading the aforementioned novel, not to mention considering reading Billy Budd. I also happened to see the newest Russell Crowe movie, which merits quite a good rating from me. Very realistic, historically accurate, and none of that silly masking. This was the real deal. Of course, Pirates of the Caribbean was a total mask film. You hardly saw any blood, even when a naval officer's throat was slit from behind. No blood. Just smidgeons, when the kids got cut (Liz and Will) when Barbossa was shot, etc ... Nothing too gory or else their rating might go up. Can't have a Disney film be too gruesome. By the way, Walt Disney would have been 102 years old today (Dec. 5th or 4th).

**Chapter IX –Proposals that Put a Crick in Your Neck **

Barbossa picked up the dirty gold coin in his grimy hand and turned it to the light. He smiled his gnarly grin and glanced at Barton and Belle. She held out her hand and Barbossa obligingly pricked it with his knife. Barton clasped her shoulder and Barbossa, her wrist and they held their breath as her blood fell slowly and welled in a great drop upon the coin. The energy in the air tensed for a moment and broke like a cloud full of water.

They were suddenly not where they had been and definitely not _when_ they had been. They stood in the middle of a stand of trees by a moderately paced river somewhere. The night air was filled with a thick heat and they knew that the peak of summer here was not a very pleasant thing.

Barbossa led the way and tramped upwards from the river, brushing aside plants and moving steadily upwards until he'd reached the peak of the hill. The other two came up behind him and they found themselves on the edge of a road.

"Where are we?" Barton asked. "My blood took us to that big city near what these new people called Los Angeles so where did her blood take us?"

"Look at the sign," Barbossa growled at him. "Where's Oregon?"

"Maybe it's in India, or the colonies in the New Land," Barton suggested.

"I don't know about that," Belle answered. "It could be unorganized territory. I was from Charleston, remember. I never heard of Oregon before."

"Grants Pass? Sounds dangerous," Barton commented.

"Quit yer yappin' and follow me," Barbossa grunted and began walking into the town. Cars drove by quite speedily and a few honked at the oddly dressed trio but Barbossa ignored them. Belle shrieked every time something came near her but after awhile she subdued herself to moderate squeaks.

Barbossa looked around and walked towards a notable shop. It was a gun store and it was closed. No matter. Barbossa brought out his flintlock and aimed at the lock of the store. Just before he was about to fire, a scream, not of fear, but of excitement rode the night air.

The trio of pirate, vampire, and bounty hunter turned to find a duo, of high school girls. One had shoulder length brown hair, the other with thick black curly hair. The one with the curls was shrieking.

"It's Barbossa! Where's Jack! I want to see Jack too!"

"Forget Jack," the one with brown hair commented. "Where's Will. Orlando Bloom is cuter."

"But Johnny Depp is hotter," the first one said with finality. Barbossa and Barton exchanged a look.

"More women under Jack and Will's protecting, I'm assuming," Barton muttered. Barbossa nodded.

"Get over here, ya swine," he growled at them. The girls happily obeyed and Barbossa brought the coin back out.

"Join hands, ladies, or else." They complied, as did the other two companions with Barbossa. He touched the shoulder of Belle and the coin reversed, sending all five of them back to _the Opal_.

"Holy shit!" the brown haired one exclaimed. "It was true! I told you!"

"Lock 'em below. In the brig. These two aren't food and put them separate from the prisoners. We don't want them spoiled." He gave a nasty grin as the two girls were dragged below.

…

"I told you guys," Heather Cook exclaimed for the umpteenth time, flipping wisps of her short brown hair back from her face. "It was in the dreams!"

"I had them too, but it's impossible to time travel!" Kristin Thornburg countered. "We must be in the movie or something, you know, the sequel. Maybe we've been discovered." Her thick curls glinted in the dimly lit cavern of wood.

Heather had been unconcerned up until this point. She shook her head and glanced at the dirty prisoners beside them. The men looked gaunt and frightened, their faces grimy and hands, black with soot.

"I dreamt of Jack and a pirate woman stuck on an island with Barbossa breathing down their necks but I never thought it meant anything. I think we've gone back in time or something. This smells too bad to be fake."

"Oh, thanks a bunch, darlin'," one of the sailors commented. "Listen, you won't be too intolerant afta' bein' down 'ere fer more'n t'rtee days."

Heather Cook ignored him and thought some more. "I don't understand how it could have happened though. What was on that coin that Barbossa drug out?"

"Dirt, maybe, I couldn't see the design." Kristin answered. "But it's still impossible, or as Madame would say, "_C'est n'a pas possible!_"

The other two just stared at her and she shrugged. "Sorry. I had French 8th period."

The girls debated for some time but stopped once the sailors started grumbling at them. The room was plunged into darkness and they slept against each other, everyone below decks uncomfortable.

…

Even though she had expected it, she was still a little uncomfortable when she woke up in Jack's arms. The only thing that had changed was that she was facing him instead. She opened her eyes to his brown chest and her mind went blank.

The cave was lit dimly from the water, the light from the white sandy bottom reflecting up through the surface and dancing about the walls like thin ghosts.

She sighed in resignation and started to move. A thought came to her, that when they slept separate, she always woke late, and he, early. When they were together, she woke moderately early, and he always after. It was usually her movement that woke him.

She froze when his arms tightened around her and his dark eyes opened. "Morning, luv."

She gave him a frown and he sat up and swung off the bed.

"The way I see it, we've got but two days to prepare for Barbossa," he gave her a stare. "You and I are going to have to put up some bit of fight to keep it looking genuine or he'll kill us then and there. We need him to take us to Isla de Muerta so we can meet back up with _the Pearl_."

Ryoko nodded and her face brightened as she thought of something. "Weren't you supposed to teach me how to fight?"

He smiled slightly. "You know, luv. I completely forgot about that. Well, don't waste time. Get up and get dressed. Boots today. There'll be no time for any injuries of the extremities." Ryoko just stared at him, shivering slightly. He laughed and strode over to the bed. When he was about halfway there, Ryoko gave a squeak and buried herself in the blankets.

"Oh, no you don't," he laughed. "No one is sleeping in today." He untangled the blankets, attempting to get at her but she was already moving away from him. She hopped off the bed and sprinted for the trap door but he easily caught her.

"I'm up! Leave me alone!" she cried. "What are you doing?" He was pulling her towards the water inch by small inch. "Oh, hell no, Jack! Don't even think about it!"

"Why not! It's only water and it'd be fun," he pushed her towards the water.

"No! Not fun! I don't want to get drenched right now! No, Jack! I am going to bite your hand off if you throw me in that water!"

"Why am I not frightened, darlin'?"

"Go to hell! I'm not being dragged into that water!"

"We'll see," Jack answered slyly, still maneuvering. He was over half a foot taller than her and outweighed her as well, plus he was stronger, but she was faster and more agile. She sat down on the floor and refused to budge. He bent and scooped her up with his powerful arms and started for the water.

"No!" she screamed loudly. Eric woke with a start. He grinned and ran over to watch.

"Jack," the kid began. "You're really brave."

The pirate looked down at the little boy and grinned.

"Scarlette's a strong girl," Eric pointed out. "Other men are afraid of her, but you're not, are you?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, boy," Jack told him. "I'm petrified by Scarlette. I'm just brave enough to push her buttons." He gave a suggestive bounce towards the water. (not _that kind _ of suggestive, you pervs.)

She latched her arms around his neck. "If you let me go over that water, I'll pull you in after me."

He stood over the water, slightly inclined so his feet didn't get wet.

"Don't you dare," she told him. He let go. She hung onto his neck, as he knew she would and Eric giggled as her legs swung out over the water, about four inches from the surface. Jack grinned as she turned her face to him. Her green eyes bored a hole into his soul but he didn't feel it. He kissed her without giving her a warning.

"Eeew," Eric commented. She growled in frustration and tried to turn away but was thwarted by Jack's hand. She let go of him and pushed off from his chest, landing with a splash in the water, her head disappearing below, her hair turning into a greenish curtain in the water.

She climbed out of the water hastily, the fact that she hadn't anything under the thin frock blouse apparent, and fixed a very angry eye on Jack. He grinned and bolted for the opening, throwing open the door and disappearing. Ryoko snatched a cutlass from a box and pursued quickly.

"Jack Sparrow, when I'm done with you, you won't be fit to call yourself a man!"

"Well, that doesn't give me much incentive to come near you, does it, now," he shouted, running wildly through the bushes and foliage of the island. She followed as quickly as she could, Eric tailing her. He didn't want to miss a real live pirate fight, even if one of the fighters was a woman.

Eventually Jack stopped running and turned to face Ryoko. He unsheathed his cutlass and took a stance.

"All right, darlin'," he growled. "You want a fight and I want a lesson. We'll do both." He slashed at her, this time, not holding back as he had in Port Royal. Her left sleeve merited a large slash, a bit of pinkish skin showing through. She swung quickly and he parried easily.

Eric watched in wonder as they slashed and stabbed at each other, their feet stationery. Ryoko, or really, Jack's shirt, gained several holes and tears. She was becoming more furious by the second and her slashes, more clumsy. Jack disarmed her finally and she stood there fuming.

"Pick it up, and try again," he told her calmly. "Try to curb your anger. It only makes you clumsy and Barbossa or anyone else will take that to their advantage." She kicked her weapon into the air and grabbed the hilt.

"Your stance is a bit off but seeing as your size isn't ... proportioned to the weapon, it's acceptable. Carry on," Jack spread his legs further apart and readied himself. She moved toward him, her mouth closed, her eyes narrowed. Instead of attacking him straightforward, she moved swiftly around, forcing him to move with her to keep his quarry in sight. The battle had become exclusively kinesthetic and Eric was laughing in glee and shouting odd phrases.

Ryoko was becoming angry again, her frustration at not being able to touch him going to her limbs and creating a tight tension between her shoulder blades. Jack ripped a large hole across her stomach and the shirt hung in tatters, barely covering her. Her hair, long and wavy, though not untangled, helped keep what she cared about out of sight. She looked rather like a lioness, all golden waves and furious green eyes, not to mention the enraged growling that continue to trickle from her small mouth

Jack grinned and moved back slyly, causing her to follow him. He almost tripped over an exposed root, causing him to loose concentration for a brief second, giving Ryoko the time she needed. She slashed across his chest, ripping the cloth, the shirt falling over his shoulders. He shouted and disarmed her in one quick slash, sending her running for the sword. In the time it took her to retrieve the weapon, he'd discarded the tattered shirt.

Ryoko stood ready but faltered. She'd seen him last night without the shirt but it had been dark and she hadn't caught what she could now see in broad daylight.

On his upper right chest, against the bronze flatness of him, stood like two dark imperfections, the old scars of bullet wounds, side by side at a slight angle. They were nearly an inch in diameter each and the skin around them looked slightly rough. Ryoko forgot her weapon and his and moved closer, bringing a hand up to feel the scars. He moved away slightly, throwing up his left arm to shield himself from her sympathetic touch. That brought a fresh gasp. His left arm was covered in crisscrossing scars, the cicatrices overlapping in light pink lines, jagged by the blade that made them.

She looked up and met his dark eyes, his face utterly serious.

"How did these happen?" she asked, her voice very small. Eric's eyes were wide from where he sat but he didn't interrupt.

"How did this happen?" he asked, moving the shirt off her left shoulder, exposing the indentation the scar made there. "Or this?" He traced fingers along her neck. "Or the ones beneath your shirt that I don't dare touch while you've a sword in your hand?"

She looked at him slightly accusingly. "How do you know about those?"

His eyes darted to the left in a quick indecision. "You told me about them," he answered with a tiny smile. "Two nights ago. You must not remember." She hadn't said a word about them but in exploring while she was drunk had led him to their discovery.

"You first," she told him. "Tell me about your scars and then I'll divulge."

"You seem to know so much already," he told her, looking at her with a sidelong glance. "What with all your 'movies' and the like. Elizabeth discovered them as well; or rather, I showed them to her. I never told her where they came from."

"When was this?" Ryoko asked, sitting down beside him where he'd fallen to the sand. "I don't remember such an event."

He sneered at her. "There's no reason why you should, darlin'. It happened while we were stranded on the island. She had been shouting at me for even thinking about using Will's identity to get my ship back. I told her that as long as Barbossa hadn't known the one he needed, I had something to bargain with but now that stupid Will had gone and decided to be heroic, all was lost, and he'd be dead come morning. She screamed at me, calling me a filthy pirate among other more colorful insults and stated that if my island escape hadn't been anything special, then perhaps my other quote, unquote, "adventures" were all painted with more gold than had been the truth. I showed her the scars, and she didn't mention Will the rest of the time we were there."

Ryoko was looking at his arm and tracing fingers along the scars, her hands very pale against his sun-baked skin. "What did this?"

"Oh, that?" he looked to where she was pointing. "That was a dagger, an ill found attempt at getting me to divulge the secrets of Isla de Muerta. Torture is not beyond us pirates, in fact, we may be the ones who know best about such actions."

"You were tortured?" she cried. "Why did you not tell them?"

"For the same reason you wouldn't tell Abuta where I had gone," Jack answered. "You feared more of what would happen if you did, then what you were going through."

"Not really," she told him. "First, I wouldn't have betrayed you just to save myself, and second, I hadn't known where you'd gone."

"Ah, honor," he whispered. "That is a trait I do not possess. Take what you can, give nothin' back. It's a rule I live by except when certain things are concerned."

"Women," she noted. "You didn't have to save Elizabeth."

"Nor you, my dear," he pointed out.

"You needed me, did you not," she asked. "You were taking when you saved me. You protect me for your own gain. Where were you shot?"

He glanced down at his chest. "Nassau. My brand was fresh, this," he pointed to the scar below the sparrow tattoo. "The East India Trading Company, for which I used to be employed wanted me to transport a certain … er … cargo that I found less than tasteful … Just the first of several discrepancies between myself and one Commander Beckett, who I will not discuss unless it is absolutely necessary."

His obvious discomfort of past events stopped her questions. He continued. "They stripped me of the rank of captain but that's beside the point. They branded me and told me if I were caught again anywhere near there, I'd be killed. My ship was fired and it sank to the bottom of the sea. That night, I was having me a bit of a drink in a pub when a Dutchman called me out in front of everyone. He knew who I was and wanted a go with the Younger Sparrow. Apparently, he'd known my father and the relation wasn't a good one between them. I fought the man and the brigade entered and saw me. The bastard who had branded me earlier that day aimed well and shot me through. I didn't see much after that but I know that a few of them were shot down. I had been unaware that I'd had allies in the room. I was dragged from the pub and taken to a house nearby."

Ryoko was listening intently, as was Eric a few yards away. Jack cleared his throat and continued.

"When I awoke, Barbossa was leaning over me, dressing the wounds and laughing. This was the first time I'd ever seen the man and I learned that my crew had left me to prove their loyalties to the Company. I had just been fired, so to speak, so I was less than the dirt beneath their shoes in their hunger to promote themselves."

He shrugged and smiled. "After a few weeks, I was back to normal, save for a wave of sudden pain whenever anyone touched me in the wrong spot. I left the town, Barbossa coming with me, and met up with ol' Bootstrap Bill. After … a while … we 'acquired' a ship, through no easy means. I assure you … _The Black Pearl_. The three of us built up a crew and we had the makings of our own vessel, which developed into a feared name. I was eighteen and once again a captain. Two and a half years later, Barbossa and the crew mutinied against me and left me on an island. I was twenty one."

His eyes looked wistful. "Then I met up with the rum runners. I told them that, should they live out the time after I got my ship back, I'd send them a share, among … other things. But, as I discovered, they'd long been cleaned out." He turned to her. "Now you."

She sighed. "It's really nothing special, compared to your story, it's downright boring." She started with her neck.

"To understand these, you must know the situation," she began. "When I was little, I came down with a mysterious ailment of which no one knew anything. It usually ailed the Jewish populace but I had no contacts to any Jewish blood. They thought I might have had leukemia."

"What?" Jack asked. "What's that?"

"A disease," she explained. "I'm not sure exactly what it does but my symptoms were similar. They're all in a family called immunodeficiency. The doctors soon realized that I was one of the rarest patients they'd seen and was sent to another specialist. The scars on my neck and chest are from tubing that went throughout my body. It went here," she traced a line. "It started in my neck and went through my heart," her finger moved in a line down her body. "And came out here, just below my ribcage. I was only four at the time."

Jack's brows were furrowed. "I'm assuming this hurt a great deal, being so young. Why did you not die from it?"

"Medical practices are much more advanced than this period," she told him. "We would not have had to cauterize your arm had we been in my time. That in itself did not hurt until after the fact for I was under anesthesia while it was being done but the problem laid elsewhere. My condition rendered my bone marrow incapable of making a certain enzyme which in turn caused me to have bone crises."

"Wait, back up," he stopped her. "I'm lost. Enzyme? What is that?"

"It's like a little catalyst, something that causes something else to happen. I am missing one that causes a breakdown of a harmful substance that builds up in my liver and spleen and causes severe pain of the bones, or bone crisis. I had one in my legs when I was little. I couldn't walk for a while, it was so severe. Then, I finally started receiving my medication. It was all right for a while but the means of giving my medication, the opening here," she pointed to the scars below her breast through the shirt. "Was easily infected. They removed it and put in a different type." She moved the cloth off her shoulder and pointed. Next to the main scar, there were two small dark indentations. One was slightly deeper than the other and she began to explain.

"Beneath the skin here there used to be a sort of disk that was connected directly to a vein. These dark spots are where the needle would be stuck. At first, it had to be done three times a week but eventually was worked down to twice a month. The darker spot was the first. It was from about age five to at least nine, possibly ten. I was in the third grade. The next lasted until I was in the sixth. This time it had been different for when I had it replaced in 3rd, I returned to school the very same day. In 6th, I was bedridden for a week. I am not sure what changed other than I was still numb from my mother's death when the first was replaced.

"Last year, in my tenth school year, the disk stopped working again. It seemed every four years or so, it needed to be replaced. This time, I told them I wanted it out for good."

"But wouldn't the disease return if they took it out for good?" Jack asked.

"I'll always have the damn disease," she told him. "It's not contagious, only hereditary, and so damn rare that no one in this time will hear of it, but no. I decided to go the IV way." She cleared the sleeve from her right hand and pointed out little dark spots along the back of it. "Needle marks. I get infusions of the enzyme through my hand. The scar on my shoulder is from the disk being removed. This may or may not have been a smart thing to do because once my veins stop working, I'll have to put it back in. This didn't hurt nearly as much as the others, however. The same night of the surgery, I attended a football game, which is an American sport that involves an oblong ball and big men who tackle each other. In my time, the school band, you know, music? They play at the games to support their team and I actually played."

"What's your point," he asked.

"You wouldn't understand but I played a sousaphone," she explained. "It's a big heavy metal thing that sits on the left shoulder. I did that the same night of my surgery."

He shook his head. "You are reckless, darlin'. If it had been now as opposed to then, you might have earned your death through such actions. Germs are impartial to the individual."

"And two days later, I went to Disney Land," she added. "I ignored the signs and rode everything."

Jack and Eric gave her identical confused looks and she smirked.

"An amusement park is a big place with animatronic cars and such that people ride for fun. I can't imagine you would understand but you'll be pleased to know that there is a ride called the "Pirates of the Caribbean." It's my favorite ride, and the longest, nearly twenty minutes. 16:50 to be exact. It's where I learned the pirate song."

"What pirate song," Jack asked.

"I'm not singing right now, Jack," she told him. "You know it. Elizabeth sang it with you."

"Yes, and I had to get her exceedingly drunk before she would," Jack answered. "Drink up me 'earties, yo ho, no doubt."

"The very same," she agreed.

"Well, there's no time for drink, now," he stood up and gripped her hand, pulling her up along side him. "Go fix your shirt and our lesson will continue."

She obeyed, running along to the cave to replace the shirt (not to mention add her bra) and returned a few minutes later.

Eric sat back to watch the two again and the sun climbed higher in the sky.

…

It was the week of the ball and the Swann household was bursting with excitement. Tavington was absent for the majority of the cheer and still only the Governor and Elizabeth knew the reason for the festivities. The maids were cleaning and decorating and the stable hands were busy issuing invitations and receiving acceptations or disinclinations.

The house was beautiful enough that the governor was being paid visits by his neighbors and fellow members of Port Royal. One of these callers was Norrington, who had mainly come to talk business.

"I told you already, James," Governor Swann answered pacing the floor. He rarely used Norrington's first name unless he was nervous or frustrated, in this case, both. "Tavington cannot be removed. If the Sparrows are not a large enough set of magnets to pull him away, then what makes you think the thought of anything else will draw him. Those two together are a big sum, big enough that almost anyone will try to take them out and I won't have any other of your ill conceived plans of drawing him out put Elizabeth in danger."

"But the ball is only a week away and he'll be certain to attend," Norrington answered. "What do you plan on doing then?"

"Tavington will not risk any action in a crowd setting and if he does, we'll have reason to hang him," Governor Swann answered.

Norrington sighed and nodded. "I take my leave for now, Governor," he quitted the house, mounting his sleek brown steed and, riding toward his office, he happened upon a trio of women.

"Good day, ladies," he greeted, swinging off his horse. "Miss, Talbott, Miss Gonzales, Miss Skiles. How do you fare this afternoon?"

"Quite well, Commodore," Robin answered. "What brings you here?"

He smiled, a rare occurrence. "Just business, milady." He tethered his horse. "Would you ladies like to accompany me on a tour of the naval barracks?"

"Yay!" Lizzy squealed, her past anger towards Norrington seemingly forgotten. "I'll go." Claudia agreed as well. Robin looked at the Commodore with a reluctant sheen in her eyes but agreed to go along. She never told her friends what had taken place between them.

He offered his arm to Robin, who pretended to ignore him. He shrugged gracefully and repeated the offer to Lizzy who took it, walking briskly alongside the tall man, her skirts swaying in the wind. The other two girls followed and he led them up to the barracks gates.

"As you can see, we've repaired the damage the last pirate attack did to the fort. The gallows were of course repaired. You'll be pleased to know that Jack and Scarlette are welcome back in Port Royal. It's a safe zone for them unless they do something regrettable."

"Really?" Lizzy exclaimed, hugging him, making him step back in surprise at her forwardness. He was not used to, nor did he even know about their identities. He thought them friends of the Turners, not girls from the future.

"Yay!" Claudia exclaimed. "We'll get to see them again!"

"Feel free to explore," he told them. "If anyone asks, tell them I gave you free reign. Miss Skiles, may I have a word?" The other two girls left with Robin's command and she followed Norrington reluctantly into his office.

"Thank you, Commodore, for allowing them to return to Port Royal," she told him sincerely. "You have no idea what that means to me."

He smiled again. "I am a man of my word, after all, and please, call me James."

She nodded without returning his smile. "I am Robin."

"Well, Robin," he began. "I am concerned that your accepting of my terms was less than sincere."

She looked up at him, slightly puzzled. "What would you have of me, Commodore?"

"James," he insisted. "I would only that you do what you are comfortable with. I wish only for you to accompany me to the ball as of yet. If you do not object, we can take this relationship further."

Robin shook her head. "You are asking to court me? I am no replacement for Elizabeth, Com—James. I have no father and no dowry should you wish to go that far. I do not know how I feel about you just yet. Perhaps time will tell but until then, I have no answer for you. I am sorry." She said all this in a very sincere manner, but what she really felt was not something she was about to just tell him. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. On the same vein, she found herself to be much better than Elizabeth, at least to her future standards. Where she came from, it was good to not need a man.

He nodded and offered his arm. She took it and he led her from the room. "I understand, Robin. I will not bring it up again if you do not wish it."

"Thank you, now I must find my friends. Goodbye," she allowed him to kiss her knuckles and sped off in the direction her friends had gone, trying not to scream in frustration. She wished she could tell them of her predicament but to do that was to court humiliation. She didn't belong in this period and she didn't intend to stay there long enough for anything between her and Norrington to grow. A lot of what she had just said was bull. She knew exactly how she felt about him, that is to say, not much. Nothing would ever come of it.

She found her friends in the armory, looking at all the different swords and such. She noticed Gillette in the corner, watching the girls with a sharp eye. At one point, he came up behind them and explained a few things.

"The shorter ones, cutlasses," he told them. "Those are what most of the junior officers use, the lower ranks. Those longer blades, small swords, that's what I use. The hilts vary and you can usually tell a bit about a person's technique by what their hilt looks like. A hilt like this," he showed them a blade with a gilded handle, the tang of it a slight golden white color. "Do you see how the thin bars cross over? This is for a man with a longer reach. The cross guard is smaller, allowing for more stretching and maneuverability of the wrist. One like this," he brought out a different sword. "The cross guard is thicker. Better for close quarters combat, a stronger grip, not as easily disarmed. The blades vary as well but not so much to the untrained eye."

"What about the pistols?" Claudia asked. She didn't like him. In fact, one of her quotes as they exited the theater before this adventure had all begun was "Gillette should have died." Though this was the case in her mind, Gillette seemed to take a liking to her. He preferred darker women but it had been a long time since he'd had time for such company. Claudia's presence, though less than encouraging, comforted him.

"Well, you see this?" he selected a gun from the wall and showed it to her. "This is a cavalry pistol, French. We don't have very many of these but they are usually used by those wretches like Jack Sparrow or Bartholomew Roberts."

Claudia refrained from making any comment, which she thought of as a record for her. Gillette continued.

"These are old matchlocks," he explained, lifting a sizeable gun. "We don't use these anymore. They aren't very reliable, especially not in wet scenarios. These are flintlocks, most commonly used for short range. You see, this snaps back and causes the powder to catch, causing an explosion, which propels the ball forward. These are wheel locks, which aren't used as often anymore either. This turns, the flint, you see? Same concept. Here's a snaphance, similar, but not quite. One learns to distinguish the differences. The different parts are frizzens, which are these little things that make the spark. This is the doghead, here. This pole is only used to load the barrel loaded pistols, others are loaded from behind. The rest of the pieces have to do with firing, either by causing a spark or lighting it yourself."

"These little ones are carried in pockets or even by women in muffs or purses. Self-protection mostly, here or in Tortuga or anywhere else one might travel. These are double barreled. See how some have two triggers. They can be fired separately or simultaneously."

He whistled and brought up an absurd looking gun that looked like a duck foot. "This is a volley pistol. This one only has four barrels but some had upwards of that. These are all fired at once. We don't use them much. They're difficult to load and aren't good for long range." He picked up a smaller, stockier gun. "This is a blunderbuss. Their shot is unique for this is what it looks like. He held up a little bag and opened it. Several small pellets fell into his palm. "Good for infection. You never can get all these out. This gun varies in size from small handheld pistols like these or large shoulder based ones. Over there are your muskets and longer firearms, rifles and such. We haven't much else in the way of guns or swords. I'm no expert on cannons, else I'd give you a tour of the battlements themselves. I hope you enjoyed the armory, ladies."

The girls exited the armory, moving up the steps as quickly as possible in the voluminous dresses.

"He's much nicer in real life," Lizzy pointed out. "He was so annoying in the movie but here he's really pleasant."

"He called Jack a wretch," Claudia pointed out. "And I know he was looking at Robin's chest the whole time."

"What, are you kidding," Robin exclaimed. "He was more occupied with you. He basically made all his explanations to you, Claudia."

She shrugged. "It don't mean nothin'."

The other girls giggled and Claudia got an evil gleam in her eye. "What about you and Norrington, Robby. What did he talk to you about?"

"Nothing like that," Robin lied. She masked her face enough to fool her friends and thanked God that the light in the room didn't show her embarrassed cheeks. "But Lizzy and David are getting cozy."

"Are not," Lizzy exclaimed. "You're just jealous."

"The only person I'm jealous of now, or particularly, the only two people, are Elizabeth and Ryoko. They got the good ones. Elizabeth is a bitchy affluent girl and Ryoko might as well be a boy for the way she acts most of the time. It doesn't make any sense!"

"Ryo would hit you insinuating that she and Jack were a couple," Claudia answered. "By the way, Robin. Who are you going to the ball with?" Robin turned and left the room, the two giggling girls following.

"Tell us!" Lizzy squealed. "That's not fair! I told you as soon as David asked me! Come on!"

"I'll tell you," Robin asked. "If Claudia goes and asked Gillette to go with her."

"She can't do that," Lizzy exclaimed. "Not in this time. Women couldn't do that. Tell us now."

"No," Robin said simply and continued to flee. Suddenly, Gillette loomed out of a doorway ahead of them.

As they had left the armory, he remembered he didn't have a date and the thought of Claudia had pervaded his mind. He moved quickly towards the girls and Robin started laughing uncontrollably. She whispered something to Claudia and the girl paled but swallowed.

"Miss Gonzales," he began. "Would you be so kind as to accept my invitation to be my date for the ball?"

She gulped again and Robin and Lizzy were giggling in the background, Robin trying to stifle her laughter by burying her face in Lizzy's hair.

"Um ... can I get back to you on that?" she asked, her voice strained. Gillette nodded happily and she smiled nervously. He bowed and quitted the hallway.

The girls exited the fort and began to make their way back to the Turner house.

"Will you tell me now?" Claudia asked. "If you do, I'll accept."

"Yeah, come on Robby. Please!" Lizzy cried.

"All right, yeah, yeah," Robin answered halfheartedly. "Guess and I'll tell you. You've got three." '_Not that they'll need that many_,' she thought.

"That one guy?" Lizzy asked. "The dark haired one who helped you off the ship?"

"Nope," she answered. "I haven't even seen him since that day."

"What about Governor Swann's horse boy," Lizzy asked. "He's kind of cute."

"He is, but it wasn't him," Robin answered, kicking a stone across the dirt road, making it bounce of the wooden door of the silversmith's shop. "Isn't he like fourteen? Way too young to even attend, I think." They continued walking.

"I know who it is," Claudia laughed slyly. "It's Norrington, isn't it? He asked you and you accepted. Hah!"

Robin's silence let them know that she'd hit it on the head. Lizzy snorted and dissolved into laughter once more. Robin looked about to strangle her.

"I did it for a good reason," Robin defended herself. "Promise you won't tell anyone, 'cause if this gets out, I don't know what'll happen."

"Of course we won't, "Lizzy answered. "Go on."

"He said that he'd work something out with Jack and Ryoko and he did. I accepted on their behalf and because, let's face it, who else was going to ask me?"

"Your self esteem is too low," Lizzy told her. "Both you and Ryoko are like that. Always saying things like 'I'm not pretty, I'm fat. Blah, blah, blah,' when you two have the best figures of our group."

"I _am _fat," Robin told her. "I don't know why Ryoko thinks she's fat when she puts away plates of chili cheese fries and doesn't gain a pound except in her boobs but I am fat."

"No you're not," Claudia told her. "You're just big boned. You would look horrible if you were this skinny. You aren't built to be like me. For your height, you aren't fat and I won't hear it anymore. At least you've got basoomas. Me and Lizzy don't have anything. And weren't you proud of being a size zero at Torrid?"

"You've got more boobs than me," Lizzy told Claudia.

"But you beat Diana the Stick Woman," Robin pointed out.

"Who cares, really," Claudia piped up. "Why are we talking about boobs?" They're just fat anyways. Little fat globs of … jello stuff."

"There you go, calling me fat again," Robin interjected.

"Would one of you ladies mind telling me where I might find Will Turner?" a deep, cultured voice. The three girls turned to find Tavington leaning against a gate.

"Will Turner?" Lizzy asked. "Um … I th—"

"We don't know a Will Turner," Robin interrupted. "I know a Will Johnson."

"And a Will Quezada," Claudia answered. "More commonly known as Spongebob Willy."

"But no Will Turner," Robin ended. "Sorry," she grabbed Lizzy's hand and dragged her off, Claudia following. She refused to slow down until reaching the gates to Will's house.

"Don't talk to that man," Robin told Lizzy. "I think he's the one Elizabeth's hiding from and with good reason."

"He's creepy, all right," Claudia added. "He like, followed us the other day and scared us. And did you hear what we were talking about when he showed up? No polite man would just stand there while we talked about boobs."

Lizzy shrugged. "You don't know that. Maybe he's nice but just looks bad. He could have just walked up."

"No," Robin told her, knocking on the door. "He's bad and you can tell. He had been staring at us that day and I felt a chill down to my soul. He's bad news."

They entered the house and the door closed behind them. A pair of Siberian ice blue eyes blinked and noted the destination.

…

Nick was working in the shop, running a blade alone a grindstone until the steel was paper thin on one side and sharp enough to cut falling silk. The door rattled and Will came in to watch what he was doing.

"You have a very fine hand for this sort of thing," he complimented. "My only critique is that blades are stronger if folded."

"I'm doing that next," Nick told him. "I just wanted to try it this way first." The truth was, Everytime he brought out a blade that was being folded, the little mule, having been brought to this shop, went wild and started plodding about, making the tools rotate around the room.

Just as Will was showing him how to engrave, the door rattled. He went to answer it and was confronted by two unhappy women that Nick unenthusiastically recognized. They were Sara (the brunette) and Nicolette (the strawberry blonde).

"You lied to us!" they exclaimed, running over to Nick.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, ducking under their blows. Will watched with a childish amusement, hand hovering near the hilt of his sword just in case.

"Look," Sara groaned, thrusting a paper under his nose. "Can you read?"

"Of course I can read," Nick scoffed, not realizing that he was among the literate _privileged_ class in this time. "What did you expect! An illiterate Indian working in here?" He snatched the paper and read aloud.

"Jack Sparrow has been sighted in New Orleans," he spoke. "So what. Bully for him, he got that far."

"Keep reading," Nicolette told him. He did and the room filled with his blandly interested voice. "Jack and his newly acquired wench, Scarlette have been sighted in the port of New Orleans and are rumored to be heading for Spain. The gruesome pirate Jack had paid a visit to his ailing mother whom we interviewed.

"_I feel good to see my only child well off and with a woman as straightforward as Scarlette alongside him. Of course I don't mind his profession, you dingbat! He's my son and if you knew any better you'd stop sticking your nose in an honest man's business_!" She ironically deems her son with 'honest' qualities but a pirate is a pirate. We predict him to make way into Port Royal once he's done with Spain, which happens to be a safe haven for the duo."

Nick looked up at the women. "What's your point?"

"They're married!" Nicolette exclaimed. "Even his mother said so!"

"And there was a letter to Madame last week from a woman called Rosette that said he'd made it to her parlor and had a woman with him of whom he'd introduced as his wife. Scarlette Sparrow, she said. We think you lied to us, boy." Sara growled. Will stepped up.

"He didn't lie," he told them, stepping in between the two parties. "At least not to his knowledge. When they left Port Royal, they weren't married. In fact, one might think they couldn't stand each other. If they've wed abroad it is beyond our knowledge so if you'll excuse us, we need to be getting up to the house. Good-day, ladies," he showed them the door and closed the latch. He and Nick exited the back way and trudged up to the house. Nick handed the paper to Will and the older man pocketed the headline. He dropped it on the table in the parlor before heading up to wash himself before dinner.

…

The night fell and Barbossa opened his doors. He had feasted well and sighed in pleasure at the smell of the sea air. He nodded to a few men and made his way down to the brig.

There were still enough men below, both from the attack on the passenger boat and the merchant ship. The two girls were sitting, one cross-legged and the other with her knees drawn up to her chest.

Barbossa gazed at them through the bars, eying both and grimacing "Why does everyone in the future know who Jack is?"

The girls exchanged glances and shrugged. "Maybe we have gone back in time," Kristin answered. "In our time, there's this thing called a movie. You, Jack, Will, and everyone else are in one of the movies. It was called _Curse of the Black Pearl_."

"So you know about the curse of the Aztec gold," he stated. They nodded and he sneered.

"Do you know where we're headin' right now?" he asked them. No one answered. "No? I didn't think so. We're off to catch Jack Sparrow and that fiery little wench of his."

"Elizabeth?" Heather asked. "That means Will's free, right?" The last was added quite hopefully.

"Not Elizabeth," Barbossa laughed. "Certainly not. Another girl that seems to have several names. She was Uriko or something like that when I had her on board as my hostage. Maxwell, I believe she was called. Asian first name, Scottish last name. Strange girl."

Kristin gasped and the other girl looked at her. She opened her mouth in shock.

"What's wrong?" Heather asked.

"I know her! Well, I don't know her, but she was on the roster for first period! I was looking around for my program when I spotted the list. I wanted to see who we knew in our class before it came out and noticed her name. It was so strange it was hard not to notice. She's in this time?"

"Aye," Barbossa grunted. "But she doesn't go by Ryoko anymore, or not that I've heard. She's more commonly known in port as Scarlette Sparrow. It seems a future wench was too much for Sparrow to handle."

"No!" Heather and Kristin cried. "Why couldn't it have been me?"

Barbossa shrugged. "She killed off six of my men and I recently heard of a seventh I was unaware of. She's a feisty squaw and has some of me men thinkin' she be a ghost or sommat of the likes. If you want to compete with that, be my guest but ye might not live through the experience. She and Jack are peas in a pod, both runnin' from the law and too stubborn to know when to lie down." He finished this spiel gazing at the cannon port they had escaped from the last time.

"You shut up!" Heather exclaimed. She pulled herself to her feet. "I bet Jack could kill you again, given the chance, and if this Scarlette woman is as bad as you say she is, she'll probably kick your ass too!"

Barbossa motioned through the bars and Heather was slammed against the back of the cage. "Are you certain of that, Missy? You obviously don't know what I am." He held her immobile with his surrealistic powers and Kristin trembled, feeling the runoff of his power. He relaxed his hand and Heather slid down the wall to crash land on her rump, crying out as she hit the rough wood of the deck.

"Think about whose side ye be choosin' by the time we arrive," Barbossa told them. "And ye might be spared." With that, he exited the brig, ignoring the pleas of the men in the next cell.

…

Diana sat below decks with her monkey friend. She didn't like going on deck at night anymore. It wouldn't ever hold the fun it used to. Below was where she belonged at night and Jack was happy to accompany her. His cute little face cheered her and she scratched his fuzzy little head as he smiled in glee.

"You can be my monkey from now on," she told him. "I'll take better care of you than that stupid Barbossa guy did. Mainly because you don't need food or water. I think my parents'll let me keep you if I demonstrate that you can't die of starvation, and you don't poop either. That is, if I ever see my parents again. Claudia's gone, the others are all in Port Royal, and Ryoko and Jack haven't been heard of for weeks. We'll only be at this island for one more week and if they aren't back by then, they aren't coming with us." The monkey cocked his head as if he understood.

There was a knock on the wall and Diana looked up to find Gibbs at the port. "Dinner's almost ready. I would bring you a dish but I might not get any meself. I cooked tonight. Spaghetti Italian style. We've been saving up the tomatoes for the sauce and I thought you might like to try it."

Diana smiled and nodded. "Thank you Josh," she answered, using her pet name for him. She always seemed to come up with silly names for everyone. "I appreciate the gesture but I'm not hungry and the monkey is still cursed. Thanks anyway."

"Are you sure you're not a mite hungry?" he asked. "You haven't eaten fer days on end."

Diana shrugged. "Whenever I eat, I get sick and barf all over. I'd rather not eat, if it's all the same to you."

"I'd feel better if you tried to eat sommat," Gibbs insisted.

"Fine, if there's anything left after everyone's finished, I'll try," she told him finally, knowing full well that the crew would finish everything down to the last crumb or droplet and what they didn't eat, the cats or rats would. Gibbs seemed satisfied, however, and nodded politely. He turned to leave when a gunshot rang out. He stiffened and gave a shout. The crew emerged from below decks to watch the spectacle.

Two drunken pirates were dueling and Gibbs began yelling emphatically and gesticulating wildly, his hair falling along his face.

"Hey ya gobs! Did yer Quartermaster give ye the right to duel? Anamaria! These swabs be dueling! Did you give permission?"

"Nay, Gibbs," she answered but another shot rang out and flew past them and into the dark room where Diana sat. The pirates looked back and clearly saw the bullet bury itself in her chest, something that would have to be a killing or at least maiming blow, which meant in those days, almost certain death without some sort of amputation, which in the chest area was useless.

Diana shrieked and the monkey flew up onto the perch that still hung from the ceiling. The girl fell back and the pirates rushed in, Gibbs pushing through the men until he was by the bedside.

"Diana! Girl! Be ye alive?"

"Of course I'm alive," she answered, staring up at him. She sat up abruptly. "The bullet missed me. It just scared me so much I screamed and in turn, scared Jack." She held out her arms and the monkey jumped to her.

"I'm going to go below to the sleeping deck," she announced. "I'm a bit tired." As she left the room, no one noticed the charred bit of fabric on the back of her dress and the monkey, pressed against her chest, covered the charred bit there. They found the bullet embedded in the wall directly behind her with a small scrap off gingham between it and the wood. No one knew what it meant or cared. The two dueling men were locked in the brig to await the Quartermaster's sentence in the morning. Anamaria had issued them both twelve lashes and had shouted that they'd better not complain and were lucky that they hadn't been given Moses' law.

"Jack may have shot you," she told them as she locked the bars. "You're lucky he won't hear of this."

…

Diana was below decks, alone except for Jack, and she was crying again. She had unfastened the basque of her dress and found the charred hole went all the way through to her skin, the surface blackened with soot but otherwise, unharmed. She felt along her back and found the exit wound. 'Wrong word,' she thought. 'There is no wound. Exit hole is more like it.'

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about getting sick anymore," she told the monkey. "I don't think I can get sick, let alone anything else. I can't eat and I can't die."

She thought back to the other day when she'd picked up the slipper. "I should have checked inside. I can't believe I was that stupid. Lord knows how many of the coins fell out when I grabbed it. I'm so stupid." She bowed her head and Jack made sympathetic chirping noises, or maybe he was just making sounds for the hell of it. Only God and the monkey knew.

"One thing is for sure," she whispered. "The crew, my friends, no one, any one. They must never know. They might even maroon me, and then what? I'd never die!"

She cried some more and slowly but surely, dawn came.

…

Ryoko and Jack had dueled most of the day and hadn't stopped at sunset. Ryoko, filled with energy as never before, had pursued him relentlessly, Eric chasing them to watch. At the end of this adventure, he had a mind to write everything down in a story he'd sell to millions if they'd buy it.

At the moment, however, Ryoko was stuck in a tree, don't ask me why. All right, I'll tell you why. Jack, running as fast as he could in his boots along the sand, vaulted effortlessly into the tree and kept going, pulling himself up high into the branches. Ryoko, given a running start, followed him, less practiced, and managed to get into the tree as well, not thinking ahead.

She had just gotten into range of Jack when he reached out and grabbed the next tree by a thick branch and swung over to the neighboring trees boughs. He slashed at the branch, leaving Ryoko to climb down the first tree.

As happened often with Ryoko, she found she could get into trouble, but getting out of it wasn't her forte. She had been capable of scaling the tree in pursuit of Jack but when it came to getting down, she found her shorter legs would not reach the next branches, even if she were hyper extended.

"Bastard!" she exclaimed. "It's not fair!"

Jack moved to the base of the tree and grinned up at her. "Sticks and stones, luv. A duel is a duel and you are stuck in a tree."

"Like the proverbial kitten eh?" she cracked. "Someone better call the firehouse."

"What?"

"Never mind," she snapped. "Go away, I'm thinking."

"A new concept?"

"You are so lucky I don't have a pistol up here with me."

He smiled and put his left hand up in a peace gesture. "Good luck." He backed away out of sight and Ryoko started contemplating methods of climbing down the tree. In impatient frustration, she attempted to hang on the branch and try to get her weight to pull it down farther. The result was her hanging from a thick branch, her feet a foot away from the next branch.

"How the HELL did I ever climb this monster!" she exclaimed, unable to pull herself back up. She attempted a lousy pull up, failed, and settled for shimmying down the branch towards the thinner end. However, she couldn't go out very much further than a certain point for beyond it, the branch became too thin. Her feet were still good nine inches from the branch below, and at a shoddier angle.

She screamed in frustrating, tossing her golden hair back from her face.

"You seem to be in a bit of trouble," a repeatedly irritating voice said from below. "I'd be willing to help if I had a guarantee you weren't going to try anything against me life afterwards."

"No, I'll get myself down, thank you very much," she snapped. Jack stopped climbing and stood about three feet up the tree to watch her. "Besides. I don't like to make promises that I can't keep."

She moved back to her starting spot, her palms red and looked down, having to hold her breath while she did. The branch didn't look that far. If she could just—

"Don't you dare do what I think you're going to do," Jack told her. "Just let me bring you down. No one will get hurt."

"I do _not _need your help," she answered, her voice tense. "Go away." He didn't move however.

"Come now," he laughed. "Why won't you let me help you? You've a bit too much pride for a woman, just a tad too stubborn. Let me be the man and you can be the woman. That's how He intended it anyway."

"How do you know?" she cracked. "You weren't there when all that happened." She shook her head, the branch swaying ever so slightly with the movement. She aimed her feet carefully and let go of the branch. Jack shouted, Eric's eyes grew wide, and Ryoko's feet hit the branch with a very solid smack, followed a second later by her hands hitting the trunk for grip.

Everyone was quiet for a moment and Ryoko looked down at Jack triumphantly, raising her eyebrows and smirking. He sighed and shook his head.

"You've made your point, luv," he told her. "Now hurry up and get down before you break a limb." Just as he said the work "break", the branch she'd landed on gave a mighty crack and split from the trunk, spilling her off the wood.

Luckily, she hit only smaller branches on the way down, which somewhat slowed her fall, but she still hit the sand at a sudden pace. The noise her body made hitting the ground made Jack bite his own lip in fear. Eric screamed that high-pitched sound which only belongs to small children and ran forward. Jack leapt from the tree and lighted next to her, oh so still form.

"Ryoko, come on, girl, wake up," he nudged her face with his hand. She was covered in scratches, her shirt and breeches torn in places. Blood seeped from the lines made by the branches. She wasn't breathing or moving and Jack feared the worst. He was afraid to touch her any more than he had for fear of worsening her condition.

"Jack! Jack!" the kid was screaming repeatedly. "What should we do? Jack!"

"Shut your mouth, you pint sized little scallop or I'll tie you to the tree and leave you!" Eric's mouth snapped shut with an audible clack and he sat down harshly in the white sand.

Jack saw no alternative other than moving her and he wasn't sure what that might do. "She'll hate me for this if she lives but I can't do anything else." He took his dagger and sliced the shirt away from her, relieved that she'd replaced her future undergarment. She would have been even angrier had she known he'd seen her without it. The strips of cloth were discarded and he was pleased to find her sternum rising slowly. She was breathing, hardly noticeably. He moved his trembling hands to her shoulders and carefully sat her up, running a hand down her spine as he did. Nothing seemed out of place there. No odd angles jutting up from her back, as he would imagine a broken back to merit. He laid her back down, her golden mane pooling in his lap.

Her neck wasn't pliant either and he was relieved that she hadn't suffered a fatal trauma. He checked her arms and legs and found them in good condition as well, save for the cuts. No broken bones, or at least none that were obvious. The back of her head wasn't even bumped let alone bloody or cracked. Still, she hadn't opened her eyes, and hadn't made a sound, even a pained sound. Eric had crept slowly closer, his eyes as big as saucers.

"Will she be all right?" he asked in wonder.

"I don't know yet," Jack admitted. He lifted her up in his arms and carried her down to the cave, laying her in the bed and covering her up, making sure she was arranged comfortably, though she wasn't conscious to tell him. He placed a damp rag at the back of her neck, at her wrists, and on her head and cleaned the scratches himself, using a dab of whiskey on the wounds to disinfect. He marveled at how small she seemed when she wasn't conscious.

He sat by her until dark, when he actually lit all the oil lamps, leaving the trap open to allow the smoke to drift. He returned to the bed and watched for signs of life.

…

When she awoke, all but one lamp had burned out and Jack was asleep, his head resting on her arm, the rest of him stretched out along her legs. She gasped and pulled her arm away from him, causing him to wake.

"Who do you think you are, sir?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, blast," he answered. "Not good. My first question is, is anything broken?"

It was such a strange question coming from this oddly dressed man that she actually tested her body before becoming suspicious. "No."

"Second, do you know who you are?"

"Of course. I'm Scarlette." His laughter was certainly not what she had expected and she began to find him rude.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No, I certainly do not."

"I'm Jack, ring any bells? Captain Jack Sparrow, the infamous pirate, captain of _The Black Pearl_?"

"I thought I was married to him. I guess something weird happened." She shrugged it off and looked around the room. "Nice cave."

"You are so disoriented it's almost hilarious," he told her bluntly. "Do you know what a truck is?"

"A what? Did you say truck?"

"Never mind," Jack answered, feeling slightly backwards himself. "This should help. Normally I wouldn't give this to you because you're a softy but it should break you out of your … confusion." He dug through a crate and came up with a round bottle, the stopper new and intact. He pulled it out and handed it to her. She drank without hesitation, the stopper held in one small hand, the liquor cascading down her throat, not a drop missing her mouth. She stopped to breathe and saw stars as the burning liquid rushed down her throat and overwhelmed her senses. She didn't throw up or even belch but swayed for a moment.

"So who am I again?" Jack asked.

"Jack, of course," she told him. "And I'm Scarlette. And don't call me a softy."

"I'm wondering if I should keep you this way," Jack thought aloud. "It would make things easier and you would certainly not be acting."

"What are you talking about?" she asked him. She threw back more of the rum, for that's what he had given her, and looked back again, more serious every time she drank. "What am I wearing?" She looked down at herself in her brassiere and Jack's attention was drawn there as well. He looked away, knowing that she had seen him glance and tensed for the slap that never came. He looked back at her in confusion.

"What's wrong, Jack?" she asked. "You look like a child about to be slapped."

"That's about what I expected," he answered truthfully.

"For what? Looking at my chest? Why would I slap you for that?"

"Your last name would be Sparrow, I imagine," he stated tiredly. She laughed at him as if he'd made a joke.

"Keep drinking, luv," he waved. "It helps a bit. As much as I want this damn prophecy fulfilled, whatever the means, I'll not have you blaming me later." Obediently, she drank the bottle down. It wasn't a very large bottle but she came back up from it, her face gaunt and her eyes swimming. She belched loudly and Jack gave her wide eyes and applauded.

"What am I doing?" she exclaimed, handing the empty bottle off to him. "Are you trying to get me drunk again, Jack?"

"Not exactly," he answered hopefully. "I wonder how they are at Port Royal. Don't you have a brother there?"

"That I do," she answered. "Little bastard he is."

"And your last names are?" he posed, holding his breath.

"Maxwell," she answered. "Haven't I told you that before?"

"I must have forgotten," he answered. He stood suddenly and picked her up, moving swiftly. He dropped her in the water and she came up sputtering a moment later.

"Dammit, Sparrow! What the hell was that for?" He pulled her out of the water with one arm and stepped aside as she shook her hair out, wringing her locks over the water.

"Well, now that I'm not drunk," she stated. "Or at least as sober as I'll be for awhile, I have to thank you."

"For what?" Jack asked. "A second ago you were about to wring my neck."

"For not taking advantage of me for the second time. You had the opportunity and you passed it up twice. I guess that means I can trust you, although I _would _like to find a shirt."

"Second time?"

"I guess it's actually the third," Ryoko added. "The first was on _the Pearl _after rescuing me but I passed out. The second was my blackout that I suddenly remember. You're lucky you stopped where you did or I would have to kill you, and then now."

"I'm surprised you still aren't going to kill me," Jack answered.

"It was my fault as well," Ryoko answered. "Alcohol, loss of inhibitions, I'm glad I had the sense of mind to stop you."

Jack shrugged and tossed her a shirt and breeches. "Go ahead and change. I'll turn around until you're finished." She changed out of her wet clothes behind his turned back, once again hanging her wet underwear over a slat on a crate. She had washed them several times and knew they were almost out of it. She was reluctant to throw away the last bits of future garments she owned, especially something like her bra. Those garments had saved her a number of times from embarrassment and, when she thought about it, if she hadn't had them, the other night might have been very regrettable without their slight confusion.

"All right, I'm done," she told him, taking a brush and running the teeth through her hair. The ivory tines caught easily in her tangled mane but after about fifteen minutes of stroking, she had it separated and silky, or as much so as it could get without conditioner. She cleaned out the tines and threw the small wad of hair in the corner where all the discards lay.

"Sleep," she sighed, sinking into the bed. "Definitely what I need right now. I'm never climbing a tree again."

"One can only hope," Jack cracked, sitting beside her. She was asleep in minutes and he followed shortly after.

…

Claudia had taken to sneaking about. She didn't want to run into Robin or Gillette and staying at home was too boring. She had been hanging around Will's shop for the past few days, watching Nick make things. He had let her play with one of Will's swords just to shut her up while he pounded in the filigree in a new hilt.

Nick was going to the ball as well. He would be seen as a young boy, not quite a man and wouldn't be expected to have a date but Claudia was supposed to have a man. She had hoped to get Nick to go with her but his bland expression when she stated the request made her change her mind.

"I wish Jack was here," she said aloud. "He and Ryoko would balance things out. She never goes anywhere with anyone so she wouldn't care if Jack went with me."

"You obviously haven't read the papers," Nick told her blandly. "Will took it but it tells everything. Apparently, my sister is married."

"What are you talking about?" Claudia asked him.

"The paper said so," Nick told her. "Something about Jack's mother and his new wife, Scarlette. That's Ryoko any day. It talked about her being straightforward. Who do you know who is more 'straightforward' than my sister?"

"Maybe Jack," she answered. "A few others, but not many. Do you really think they got married? It must be a hoax, disguise, undercover, you know. Ryoko isn't stupid, just impulsive. She knows we may get back to our own time. And they fought constantly while they were here!"

"Not only that," Nick added, grinding down a bit on the hilt. "Who would marry her besides the freaks at her high school? Certainly not Jack. He's one of the most notorious men around and with my sister … it wouldn't happen. Never, not in a million years."

"Why not?" Claudia asked.

"No one in their right mind would marry her! She's crazy! She burps louder than anyone I know. She's a macho chick who thinks being able to do hundreds of pushups in a few minutes is a grand accomplishment, and she aspires to be a great tuba player! Tuba players are fat drooling men!"

"Well, she isn't, is she? So there. And you're just jealous because she can do more pushups than you can. And it's not as if she's any crazier than Jack," Claudia pointed out. "And she'd prefer the term uniquely insane."

Nick scoffed and continued to make his sword, the hilt shaping nicely. "All right … I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they were drunk or something, but I think it's all a rumor started by Norrington's enthusiasm of finally executing Jack. And don't even get me started on Ice cream Head. What kind of a loser would execute a woman just for being around a pirate? What a pathetic guy."

"Sure," Claudia answered hopefully. "That's what I think too. You're probably right. I'm not so much concerned with him not wanting her, but more her being stubborn or something like that. You know her. An ass would have a hard time beating her out. Jack seems like the kind of man who'd enjoy a challenge. You know, thinking she was playing 'hard-to-get' when in reality—"

"Are you kidding?" Nick exclaimed. "Did you see her in the theater? She was drooling all over him when he showed in the first scene, on the mast, you know. She'd jump at the chance. She's so obsessed with this Johnny Depp character … she's got all the music memorized, the lines of not just him, but the entire movie, bits and pieces of pirate paraphernalia strewn about her room … etc. It goes on and on!"

"Have you seen her with Jack?" Claudia asked him. "Not Johnny Depp, but Jack Sparrow? Two different people and two different attitudes. Those two scalawags fight worse than the two of you do sometimes, mostly over stupid things. You just weren't paying attention. Plus, all of the things you mentioned point more to an obsession with pirates, not necessarily with Johnny Depp or Jack Sparrow. Just pay more attention next time and you see."

"I don't need to pay attention to my sister," Nick grunted. "She doesn't care for me in the least. Why should I care about her?"

"And would you really not have given a shit if she had hung that day?" Claudia demanded. "Can you honestly say you'd see her dead?" Nick was silent for a moment and he went back to working on his sword. Claudia snorted and continued. "Plus, I didn't invite you to my birthday … she brought you along. Wasn't that nice? Would she have done that if she didn't care?"

"Oh yeah?" Nick shouted, raking his hammer against the cherry red blade and causing sparks to explode with his anger. "And a fine mess she's gotten me into this time. I'm stuck in Port Royal making stuff for battle instead of going and having a grand adventure like she's happily off doing."

Just then, the door gave a rattle and Robin entered. She looked about the dark room and spotted Claudia.

"Hi Rob," Claudia said meekly, moving to stand behind a beam. Robin came over and dragged her forward towards the man who had entered with her. It was Gillette of course and Claudia wanted to vomit on his varnished boots.

"Good day, Mr. Gillette," she curtsied clumsily, hoping he would change his mind about her. Unfortunately, her luck was not that good today.

"I don't mean to prompt but have you decided? About the ball, I mean?" he asked. Claudia laughed half-heartedly, glanced at Robin and frowned. She wasn't getting out of this one.

"Yes, I suppose I have," Claudia answered. "I ... uh ... just a minute," Claudia dragged Robin over to the corner and a hush of heated whispers could be heard. They returned, Robin triumphant and Claudia a tad gloomy and most unenthusiastic. "I accept your invitation."

Gillette beamed and bowed. "Thank you, Miss Gonzales. I am honored to be your escort. Good day." He replaced his hat and strode from the shop, almost running into the wall in his excitement.

Nick started laughing, his voice tinny through the dust of the room. "You're going with Ice Cream Head? That's funny. No wonder you asked me. You wanted a real man to take you."

"A real man … right. And Robin's going with Ice Cream Head. You never came up with a name for Gillette," Claudia spat. Nick laughed harder.

"Okay, well you're going with … Hey, I know. We can call him Sexy Smooth Legs instead. You know, those Gillette razors on TV … muahahaha!"

"Shut up ya little bean pole," Robin snapped, throwing a pile of thatch at him. "I notice you don't have a date."

"I don't need one," Nick answered, stretching his arms behind his head. "The chicks dig the blacksmith thing."

"You wish," Claudia goaded. "Nice dreams, huh. I bet you've never had a date in your life! Pizza face!"

"More than Ryoko's had," Nick answered.

"That's not true," Claudia countered. "You didn't hear about a few things. I guess she never told you. It's not in my … job description to discuss it. When they come back, you can ask her but I'm not sayin' nothin'."

"Me neither," Robin added. The door rattled and another person entered. They expected to find Will but the man at the door was darker of hair, but lighter of eyes.

"Excuse me, ladies," he said in a deeply cultured voice. "Would one of you be so kind as to accompany me to the ball? I heard you're attending from my host, which happen to be Governor Swann and I, being not a resident, lack in knowledge of the people." Tavington could sound mighty polite when he chose to do so.

"I'm sorry," Robin told him, slightly bitter. "We've both got dates. Naval officers."

"Ahh," he answered. "I suppose I cannot compete with the Royal navy. Good day to ye, and tell Elizabeth I am waiting for her exile to cease."

When he closed the door, the three teens went nuts.

"How did he find out?" Nick exclaimed. "She never left the house!"

"Did we say anything maybe?" Claudia asked Robin. "Without realizing it in the market perhaps?"

"No, we said nothing about her," Robin answered. "He must have been asking around. He knows now and we've got to report it. Let's go." Nick locked the front door and the three went up to the house to relay the news.

…

For once, Jack woke first and found the girl pressed to his chest, her forehead resting on his collarbone. He was not surprised or appalled but amused. She had begun at night to turn toward him in her sleep where before, she'd always moved as far away as she could get, even while under. He traced her eyebrows with one finger, marveling at their brushstroke perfection. Well, not perfection, but he could tell she didn't shape them at all. When they weren't furrowed in anger or frustration, they made twin arcs, perfectly symmetrical to her face, hardly a strand out of line.

Her hair looked dark in the muted light of the cave. The lamps had long since burnt out and the trap had been shut after her memory gain. He was thinking about what they were going to do upon Barbossa's arrival when she began to stir. Her arms moved up to rest against his chest and she stretched her back, her face resting in the crook of his neck, her breath tickling the skin there, bringing a chill up his back. He fell back into position and dozed for a few more minutes, the warmth of their combined heat lulling him back to sleep.

She woke then and sat up, pulling away from his warmth, bound on making her own damn heat. He sat up with her and refused to let her move.

"You needn't be so independent," he told her bluntly. "I'll think no less of you if you ask for the help you need. The tree, the corset, the drinking, you needn't compete with me. I could have carried you down without danger to myself, I would have helped you with the damn whalebone without comment or gesture, had you heeded the first time, and I could care less if you drink like a pirate. It won't hurt you to depend on ol' Captain Jack for these things. I'll not bring them up."

She shrugged and yawned. "It means nothing to you, but I hate being helped. Especially out of that stupid tree. I can take care of myself and do not require a man to open my doors, do my dirty work, or cater to my every whim. The rest of the women can keep their lousy weaknesses but I swallow my tears, roll up my sleeves and dive in."

"What made you this way?" he asked in curiosity and partial frustration.

She gave him a sharp look. "I don't expect to ever marry," she told him. "I don't need to get used to that sort of thing if I'll never have it. I can do everything myself and I will. When I was younger, I had everyone telling me I was too weak to do anything and I spent a good chunk of my life proving them wrong. I don't see why I should stop now."

"Darlin," he began. "I hate to burst your bubble but you are a tiny little woman in a male dominated society, at least in my period. I don't know what goes on in your time but here, women are not seen, but through men. If you are known, you I mean, you are first known, and don't hit me, as Sparrow's woman, untouchable. Then, if they know your reputation, you are the woman who killed seven pirates and escaped with Jack Sparrow from the British navy. You do not exist except through me at this point in time. You cannot be independent here. You will not survive the system." He stood quickly and walked off to dress completely. "Get all your clothes. We're continuing the lessons today. Barbossa is arriving tonight, probably."

She complied and they sparred, silver blades clashing and glinting in the light. Piece by single piece, they disrobed in the Caribbean heat until Ryoko was boots, trousers, and blouse, and Jack in much the same, his shirt open a bit more than hers for obvious reasons.

Ryoko was getting fast and she actually managed to pass his blade by sidestepping and thrusting forward. He grinned like a proud teacher and they continued to spar until nighttime. Eric had grown bored with watching and was building mud castles like a normal child would.

As dark came, Jack lit a fire on the beach. "Can't have them missing the island now, can we," he explained. It was a fine excuse to roast gulls as well, Jack having deftly caught one and killed the bird. He seemed to have forgotten his previous qualms about lighting a fire.

"Not the greatest meat, but it'll do," Ryoko commented. "I've never had this before. Hey, Jack; I thought you said we still shouldn't light a fire?"

"A lot better than buzzard, I assure you," Jack told her. "But not as good as, say, hen or rooster, chicken if you like. The fire? I got impatient. And hungry for something other than dried stuffs and coconuts. They're bound to not feed us for the time it takes to get to Isla De Muerta and I'd rather start off with a full belly, wouldn't you say?"

"Someday, when I'm back in my time, maybe you can come visit, and I'll show you what we eat. Big Macs and French fries with extra grease. Have a Pepsi too. Those are good but fattening. Chili cheese fries, Mmm."

"Sounds interesting, but not much varies, does it?'

"Not in my diet. I'm surprised I'm not fatter than this," she poked her own stomach.

"You certainly don't believe you're fat," he stated. "You're lighter than many women I know and you've a better figure as well. How you can say things like you'll never marry and you're fat I'll never guess."

"One," she began. "In my time, not everyone marries for looks. I happen to have a brain as opposed to idiot girls of who men find it easy to take advantage. Who would you chose?"

"I don't think that's a good question to support your argument," he answered. "I'm not a fan of brainless girls. They're too easily tricked which is no challenge for such a man as me. You've outlasted almost everyone so far. Leading of course is Elizabeth."

"How can you even count her?" Ryoko asked. "She's so mean to you."

"And you aren't mean to me yourself, is that it?"

"Oh," she said. "Well, now that I look at it that way, I guess I am mean sometimes, but you ask for it."

He shrugged. "Can't help it sometimes." He drew in the sand the makings of a ghostly mast, the sails billowing in crooked lines. The firelight threw into sharp contrast his skin and eyes so that they shone like two dark gems within the golden sheen of his face.

She gazed at him as he drew in the sand and felt a strange sort of protectiveness, as if he were under her wing, as it were. She realized that she wasn't bothered by his light teasings as much as before and didn't really mind his musings either. She moved over to sit next to him and leaned back on her arms to glance at the stars.

"That looks neat," she pointed. The silver stars were in relief against the black blue velvet of the sky, the moon suspended in that great canvas like a misshapen ball. It was about a week until full and the light already washed over the waves like silver.

"Where I come from, you can't see the stars anymore," she explained. "The city has taken over, belching its black smoke into the sky until the stars and sometimes even the moon itself are covered.

"How do they navigate?" Jack asked.

"They have stuff like radar and autopilot," she told him. "Things that automatically tell you where you are. None of this guessing where to go. The age of electronics is where I come from. God, I miss my computer. I could be writing everything down and making a great fan fiction."

Jack looked at her wistful profile turned up to the sky. "Would it be so terrible to stay here?" Something in his voice made her look at him. He looked so serious she couldn't help but smile.

"Won't you be glad to be rid of me?" she asked him. "No more sticking your neck out for me or anything like that. No more masquerading. No more—"

"No more of this," he whispered, brushing his lips against her cheek, his fingers grazing the other side. "Or this," he moved to her mouth where he barely teased her with his lips. He pulled back to look into her eyes, searching for the reprimand or complaint.

She looked surprised but not angry, and she wasn't even drunk. "I'm not sure I understand."

"No drinks," he began. "No practice, no ulterior motives, just this. I would like it to be this way, just simple. No emotion needed, which is what you really wanted." He kissed her again and this time, she returned it, allowing him to spill her into his arms.

He smiled down at her and she returned it. "That's the best you've ever done," he told her. She tried to frown and blinked in amusement. A distinct click brought their attention elsewhere however.

Barbossa stood on the white sand, his boots quite clean, Barton and Belle at his back.

"T'was a touchin' scene, Jack Sparrow, but yer time is up. I'll not be killin' ya here but if ya put up a struggle I might be made to change me mind."

Jack stood, pulling Ryoko up with him and standing partially in front of her. They had been had. Jack had underestimated Barbossa's powers and the three vampires had arrived without a sound.

Ryoko pulled back; ready to dart to the cave at Jack's signal. "What about Eric?"

"You mean the little swab we pulled off the beach a few minutes ago 'bout this tall," Belle asked, raising her hand accordingly. "He's below, manning the bilge. A cabin boy's first duty is never a pleasant one. He's been pressed into service."

"No," Ryoko said firmly. "He's to go free once we reach a hospitable port."

"You have nothing to negotiate with, wench," Barbossa snapped at her. "If we wish to keep the boy it's with us he stays. Barton; put 'em in fetters and make sure they don't run. I'd get the rest of their clothes seeing as that's what they'll die in." Belle retrieved the vests and coats from the cave, allowing the two to dress before Barton clasped their chains. They were herded onto a dinghy and Barton rowed everyone out to _the Opal_.

They were dragged roughly aboard where the crew jeered and gestured at them, many suggestive comments being tossed at Ryoko.

Once below, Jack was thrown in the cell with the other future girls, and Ryoko was placed in the wall shackles, most uncomfortably, since her limbs were all too short. She winked at Jack once the other pirates left and wiggled her hand in and out of the manacles. He nodded and smiled. The girls in the cell with him were staring speechlessly at him.

"It's Jack!" one with dark, curly hair squeaked. "I can die happy!" She touched his arm to verify and fainted. The other one just stared, not taking notice of her friend who lay unconscious at her feet.

He turned to them and said, "Hello, ladies," and stooped to prop up Kristin, the one who had fainted. She woke to find herself held up by Jack and almost fainted again.

"What is it with you future girls?" he asked Ryoko from across the room. "Robin fainted too, the first day. Am I that terrifying?"

"Yes," Ryoko laughed. "Absolutely petrifying, unless you're like me. I don't scare too easily."

"I know exactly what you mean, luv," he answered. The two girls fanned themselves and Jack felt the ship begin to move.

"The anchor's been weighed," he announced. "We're off to Isla de Muerta and _the Pearl_. Cross your fingers, ladies and hope our plan works out."

Ryoko slipped from her arm manacles and began working on her ankles and the ship headed forward.

…

Well, then. What did you think? My longest chapter yet. Did you know an Oregon college band played Pirates of the Caribbean for their field show? That would be University of Oregon in Eugene. Very cool. Nothing compared to the real thing though. *sigh* There was a few boys on their color guard and one of them was *nice*. I've begun writing music as well and I'm going to try and include the music from the other composers, not just Klaus Badelt. You all know what I'm talking about. Music such as the Tortuga entrance, the ship battle between _The Interceptor _and _the __Pearl_, as well as putting in, you guessed it, A Pirate's Life for Me.

I'll be writing for flute, trumpet, violin, cello, and tuba/bass. I'll probably add a few others but as of yet, these are the only ones.

~Revisited commentary~

Last night was Halloween and I saw entirely too many pirate costumes that needed entirely too much help. I was in Ashland, a town that takes this holiday seriously and there were plenty of great pirate costumes … men. The women sucked … well, girls, mostly going "Oh, Will! Oh, Jack!" None of which actually knew anything about … anything. I got a crap load of candy and dressed as something no one would expect; a princess. My costume was awesome too. I don't mess around with Halloween. My costumes are always well thought out in advance.

Re-visited on 11-1-06


	11. Chapter X : A Bluff and a Ball

Hey kids. How's it going? Good? Good. I hope you're having fun. This chapter uncovers a few things. I don't want to waste time in writing a lot so here's the chapter. A disclaimer to Monty Python.

**Chapter X — A Bluff and a Ball**

Anamaria sat on the sunlit deck with Diana, working on their tans. "Sparrow's got only a few more days," she stated. Diana nodded.

"I hope he makes it here," Diana added. "We should wait for a bit longer, just in case."

"He may be dead for all we know," Anamaria sighed. "I wish we could find out."

"We'll know soon enough," Diana told her. "Once we get into port we'll know. He's such a big news attraction. Either he'll be dead or still at large." The monkey emerged from below and scampered over to Diana. He hopped upon her shoulder and looked at Anamaria, his big black eyes shimmering in the sunlight.

Anamaria scowled. "How can you carry that beast around? He's a demon monkey. An _undead _demon monkey at that. If Jack were here, he'd have shot him already."

"I can't just leave him here," Diana answered, petting Jack's head. "Sure, he can't starve or be killed but monkeys have feelings too. I don't want to leave him here all alone. He's been abandoned by Barbossa once already. I don't want him thinking humans are all bad. It's not his fault he's undead."

"He's a bloody animal, an immortal one at that," Anamaria cursed. "I've seen him. He's got one of them coins out of the chest. Maybe we should destroy that gold to keep anyone from getting at it. The monkey will stay cursed of course but—"

"No!" Diana exclaimed. "Don't destroy the chest. It should stay there to ward off treasure seekers. This island cannot be found except by the ones who know it but what if the chest is the reason for it? If you removed the curse, then maybe the island would be found." Diana could have cared less about the pirates' treasure. She just wanted the curse to be lifted before anything bad could happen to the chest, making it impossible.

Anamaria nodded. "You've a point that I never thought of. The chest should stay."

Shouting from the shore brought their attention to a man named Armstrong. He was running towards the dinghy and waving his arms. Since he didn't seem to be being chased, Anamaria assumed he must have some type of news.

"A ship! A privateer, headed this way!" Armstrong was shouting, though none could hear him. He rowed enthusiastically up to _the Pearl _and boarded in frenzy.

"What gets you, man?" Gibbs asked, Anamaria and Cotton coming up behind him.

"I was up on the peak, the nose crag, sir," he began, his long red hair stuck in wet clumps to his rough forehead. "I had been explorin' a bit to see if there was anything else around here I'd never noticed before. Luckily, I had my ol' spyglass with me. I was just scanning around, lookin' fer birds or what when I spotted a black spot on the horizon. She's a good distance away but it's too coincidental for her not to be bound 'ere wheres. She be flyin' a privateer flag but t'warnt what I felt."

"It must be Jack!" Anamaria exclaimed. "Only he could think of something like that to get here."

"But it may be that old fop in the wig," Gibbs added. "Norrington knows where we lie and he's itching to have Jack hung. Wouldn't be long b'fore he's had us all hung on pursuin' terms."

"He t'warnt comin' from Port Royal," Armstrong contradicted. "She be comin' from the North, Port Royal lies to the West. I don't think it be the Commodore."

"Well, maybe not. Who else knows this location?" Diana asked.

"Jack knows, of course," Anamaria answered in a moat steadfast way. "It'd be him."

"Barbossa knows it as well," Gibbs added somberly. "And where he goes, _the Dragon _follows."

"Ain't no Chinaman ship," Armstrong added. "Strictly English."

"It could still be Barbossa," Anamaria interjected, changing her opinion. "Last we met, he was pirating a privateer. He knows the location, but he's after Jack right now. I say we wait and face whoever it is. We should moor in the backwater cay."

"I agree," Gibbs answered. "I'm not runnin' from any privateer, captained by the damned or not." He looked back to Cotton. "What say you?"

"SQUAWK! There be squalls ahead! SQUAWK!"

The speech able glanced at each other and shrugged. "Hell if I know what that means," Gibbs muttered. "But it'll do fer an answer." The men returned to their work with a fervor reserved for rabid last minute Christmas shoppers.

Anamaria, being the Quartermaster (Quartermistress?) began ordering the crew about. "Clean your arms men, we may have a fight on our hands come sundown. There be a ship bound for us. Make sure the holds are all in good keep or I'll have your skin for five. Have the sixes and twenty-fours ready for battle. I want everyone at their stations. Nathaniel! Are you not this ship's gunner? Get them going! Everything should be fortified. If that's Barbossa, he'll batten down the hatches on us!" She moved to stand at the helm. Diana followed her and began to ask questions.

"I don't understand half of what you just said," she admitted. "Clean arms? Skin for five and sixes?"

"Cleaning arms," she explained. "Making their guns ready for firing, cleaning out the priming pan and that sort. I'll have their skin for five meaning that if they don't get their duties done, it'll be five lashes on the bare back. Sixes and twenty-fours are different sized cannons."

"Okay," Diana nodded. "What's my job?"

"Lock yourself in the captain's cabin," Anamaria answered. "Unless it's locked already. Jack's the only one aboard who can get that door open and he's not here. Take this." She roughly shoved a pistol into Diana's arms, causing her to drop the monkey. The simian screeched loudly with derision and scampered away to hide himself in the rigging.

Diana went to the door and tried. It wouldn't budge so Anamaria sent her to the sleeping deck with orders to stay out of the fray. She was told to shoot it at anyone not belonging to _the Pearl_.

Marty, the shortest man on board, was below decks instructing the men on certain things. Just because he was a midget, didn't mean he wasn't able.

"Make sure it's visible. Tie it 'round your neck or head. This should show up enough so that we don't accidentally knock any of our own off." He was distributing white handkerchiefs to the crew as markers.

_The Pearl _was already prompted for battle and the incoming ship was still hours away. Thank God for Armstrong's curiosity.

Gibbs stood on the poop deck and took a swig from his flask. Anamaria strode up and peered at his shoulder. They looked at each other and nodded. Gibbs shook his head and whistled.

"This'll be interesting, no doubt."

Of course, the words of the parrot, 'There be squalls ahead,' still rang.

…

"I've got it!" Ryoko exclaimed in a stage whispered. She had been working on slipping her foot out of the shackles and had finally managed to get out of them. She rubbed her ankles through the leather of her boots and stretched her back.

"What should I do?" she asked. The room was dim but Jack was awake, a girl leaning on each of his shoulders, fast asleep and in bliss.

"Find the keys," he answered. "There should be a ring on the wall. Luckily, he left them this time. When I rescued you, I had to spring the door off the hinges."

"A dirty trick you learned from Will Turner," she remarked.

He raised an eyebrow, though she couldn't see it in the gloom. "Another thing you know from one of your 'movies', I assume?"

"Yeah." She felt along the wall, touching a ring of keys with three on it. They rang with a sort of gravelly sound due to rust on both the keys and the ring. Stumbling over, she felt in the dark for the lock and undid Jack's cell with a harsh click that seemed to echo too loudly. The sailors in the neighboring cell began to speak.

"Mrs. Sparrow ma'am? Can you let us out too? Please Miss. We don't want to be killed by that rat. Have mercy on our poor souls." Ryoko looked from the sailors to the keys in her hands and moved to unlock their cage. Jack grabbed the keys from her and looked at the men.

"I'll let you out on one condition," he told them. "Well, really, quite a few conditions, but one main one. You will follow our orders, that is, Scarlette and I. You will protect these women here with your life and, if you like, you can even join me crew. We'll be stopping in Tortuga for a while, assuming me ship's at the island so if you don't like a pirates life, you're welcome to desert."

The men nodded gravely in their cell and Jack picked one out, spouting his detested line. "Do you have the courage and fortitude to stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?"

"Aye, that I do, old Sparrow," the crusty sailor answered. "I knew your father."

"And what's your critique, man? Honesty, now."

"Damn fine swordsman, for a Spaniard. Bit of a drinking habit. Not very consistent with women. Lost money almost as soon as he made it."

"That's the one," Jack answered. "What be your name, man?"

"I be Stewart," he grunted. "Tom Stewart, that is."

"Pleased to have you aboard, Mr. Stewart," Jack said softly. "Here's to hoping I impress you better than my father did."

They heard loud voices coming nearer and Jack motioned the men to stay. He unlocked the cage but let it rest. He did the same with his, holding it shut so the swaying of the ship did not cause it to open. He motioned to Ryoko and she scampered back over to her shackles and slipped her hands into them, leaving the ankle ones off. Instead, she stood on the shackles and finally had enough height to look normal in the wrist ones.

It was not Barbossa who entered but Jacoby, his beard smoking as usual. Even though the curse had been lifted, his beard still smoked like an everlasting candle. He had obviously pulled himself back together after being blown to bits by his own bomb. He waved his friend off with a few muttered words, shut the trap door and looked around.

"Hello, Jacky," he growled into the cage. Jack made a disgusted face and turned his head. Jacoby smelled worse than most pirates what with his putrid face, his burning hair, and his ulcer problem.

Jacoby ignored the ones in the cells and turned to Ryoko. "And how's the lady Sparrow, eh? You know you're in irons for a reason, woman."

"Oh really?" she asked him haughtily. "You mean I'm hanging from the hull for a _specific _reason? And I was sure pirates were idiots." Her sarcasm was as thick as the molasses from which rum was fermented.

"One of us pirates was that reason," he spat. "I just happened to be the lucky one. I'm gonna make you holler like a kitten, wench!" He lunged. Jack shouted and Jacoby stopped and turned to him slowly, his beaming mouth showing all of what was left of his putrid teeth.

"What, Jacky," the nasty little man seethed. "Can't do nothin' to stop me, eh? Oh well, too bad for you." He turned back and Ryoko scowled. Jacoby never attacked anyone on fair grounds, because he wouldn't survive the encounter. He was one who picked on men behind bars and women chained up to solid objects.

She had only a dagger in her boot and she'd never reach that in time. He moved towards her again and she did the only thing she could think of. Her feet were free so she used them. She caught him in the groin the first time and when he doubled over in pain, she used the chains and swung from the wall, slamming her foot across his wet face. He flew across the room and sprawled against the floor in a smoking heap.

"You'd better put him out or he's just going to try again," Jack told her. She freed an arm and pulled out her knife. Slipping completely out of the shackles, she studied it in her palm.

"I don't want to kill him," she stated.

"You should," Jack told her. "Not because of his actions as of yet, but of what he will do if you don't."

"Bitch!" Jacoby slobbered in his corner. "I'll kill you as soon as I can get up."

"Now that's incentive," Jack pointed out. "If you can't do it, I will."

"No," she answered coldly. "I don't need you to kill for me."

Jack beamed. "I thought we went over this." She ignored him and went over to Jacoby, kicking him again. She hit near his temple and heard a decisive crack as his head followed the direction of her blow. He slumped, dead, his neck broken. She put the dagger in her boot and leaned against the wall, as far from the dead body as she could get. Jack opened his door and dragged the man to the gun port, pushing it open and allowing the man to fall to the water. His hair was still smoking and he made a hissing sound as he disappeared beneath the dark water.

Ryoko didn't look at him as she leaned against the wall and he stopped near her. "Are you all right, luv?"

She glanced up at his searching face, her eyes sad. "I knew it had to be done but I didn't want to do it. Abuta would have killed me and the other six kills I didn't feel bad about because I was embarrassed but that man bothered me. I have the feeling it could have ended differently."

"It could have," he answered. "It may have ended with us in his place or it may not. We'll never know but always wonder. It's how we live, darlin'. Don't question it and you'll survive."

She nodded but still looked a little distressed. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her, not trusting her fully to fall into place. He breathed in relief when she leaned against him. More footsteps made them scurry back to their places. The keys were again in place and the men were holding the bars in a death grip. Barbossa entered the hold and shut the door above him.

He glanced around. "Where's Jacoby?"

"Who?" Jack asked. He turned to the men in the other cell. "Any man named Jacoby here?"

"Nay," the men answered almost as one.

"Don't play smart with me, Sparrow," Barbossa growled. "I sent a man down here to entertain your wench. Where is he?"

"Oh, him," Jack relented. "Ask her yourself." He winked at her behind Barbossa's back and nodded.

"Well?" Barbossa asked her, stepping close and scrutinizing her face, his yellow eyes narrowed in a suspicious glower. She shrugged.

"He must have changed his mind," she answered nonchalantly. "I mean, he did come down for a second but decided he'd rather not entertain me seeing as I kept interrupting. I'm sorry. I'm horrible that way. Loads of people tell me I talk too much. I just twitter like a little bird. I don't—"

"Shut up," he growled. She obliged but kept a rather unconcerned look on her face. Barbossa looked at her in an incredulous stare, then back to Jack. "Why am I cursed with your kind, Sparrow? Little bird indeed. She's just like you."

"I wouldn't tell her so," Jack muttered frankly. "She might change your mind as well."

Barbossa sniffed at him. "Bet you think you've got it all in the hand, eh Jack? You've come back from the dead as it were, twice, no, technically three times, from me anyway. You've escaped from the navy's execution twice and you've managed to make an ally out of the one woman in this world who is as brusque as yourself. There's no escape from here on out, Jack. According to that little Chinese strumpet, your death would bring upon us a ghost …" He spared Ryoko a glance. "… Unless it were to occur at Isla de Muerta, which is where we be bound of course. Ye've only got a few hours to live. Any requests?"

"Knowing you, I've got to be extremely specific," Jack said. "Let me think. These women are not to be harmed at all, which includes Scarlette there. In fact, I want them to go free to Port Royal, by you putting them safely on the dock there. My ship, if you ever encounter it, should not be harmed in any way. Port Royal is off limits to you and any crew you might have. Have I forgotten anything?"

"Not that I would tell you," Barbossa answered. "But yer time's up anyway. In fact, I'll even let this one out of her chains. The hatch is locked and you're miles from anywhere so swimming would kill her. And before ye even think of it, the keys are comin' with me." he went to unlock Ryoko and looked at her ankles in astonishment. He shook in anger and fumbled with the locks on her wrists, springing them open.

"Jacoby's your eighth kill, ain't he?" Barbossa asked dangerously, pressing her against the hull with one arm. "Yes, I heard about my former bos'un. I don't see no blood so I wonder how ya did it this time."

Ryoko only smiled at him, making his rage shoot through the roof. He struck her rapidly and solidly across the face, sending her sprawling across the room. She skidded along the wooden planks to halt a few feet from the cage. Barbossa looked at Jack and met dark eyes that burned. Jack's face was utterly threatening and Barbossa had never seen him quite that way before. He gave one last glare and left the deck, shutting and securing the hatch behind him.

Jack waited for his footsteps to fade before opening the door. He bent quickly over Ryoko, the two other girls following and watching in a forlorn sort of way.

She flinched when he touched her and but she allowed him to help her sit up. She trembled in rage and grinded her teeth. He could see where she'd been hit. Barbossa's new strength had made a joke of Abuta's blow. Her skin had actually broken in places and the area was a dark red. Her face looked dazed and it was a wonder she hadn't blacked out. If Barbossa had used his full strength, she might have been killed.

"I'm all right, Jack," she muttered, gripping his hand so hard her knuckles turned white. "Really, I'm fine." He ignored her however, carried her to a gunner's bench, and laid her on it. He cradled her upper body and prodded the mark lightly with his fingertips.

"Damn that Barbossa," Jack said softly. "I'll have to kill him again."

"Not for me, surely," Ryoko whispered.

"Why not?" Jack asked her. "I'm entitled to defend my wife, am I not? You can kill your own and I, mine. I still have a score to settle with ol' Barbie, besides this recent transgression on his part."

"You really are married, then," Kristin spoke for the first time since the incident. "We thought it might have been a rumor. Oh well."

Jack turned and gave her a rather bemused sort of smile. "Don't tell me it was me who had your heart," Jack teased. "A filthy pirate?"

"No, not really," she told him. "In my world, you're somewhat of an idol. Women worldwide are in love with you."

"I think, given the chance, either of us would have married you," Heather told him, smiling. "It would have been a lot of girls' dream."

"Worldwide. That big, huh?" Jack laughed. "It's almost as bad here. If they don't want to kill me, they want something else, if you know what I mean. All except … certain people." He fought to keep from glancing down at the injured lass in his lap.

"Why Port Royal, Jack?" Ryoko asked. "I'm likely to be hung there."

"No," he told her. "You wouldn't be noticed unless I was there with you."

"What, I'm not flashy enough? Is that a good thing?"

"In this time it is," he answered. "Not exactly flattering but useful."

And _the Opal _sailed onward to meet its sister ship, _the Pearl_.

…

Anamaria snapped her spyglass shut. "That be Barbossa on deck. He's looking mighty pale for being on a ship all day."

"Are you certain?" Gibbs asked.

"Of course I am," she smarted. He took the scope and found the ship.

"Mary Mother of parmesian!" he gasped. "They're bringin' someone out from below. Sites! It's Jack! And the little one's with him!"

Anamaria wrenched the scope from him and focused it. "Damn! It _is _Jack! Have the gunners train the cannons on their hull. They can't see us yet but we've got them under our thumbs."

Gibbs took the scope back with a mutter that sounded like. "_Damn women, takin' my scope_," and refocused the lens as the men ran frantically to secure all the guns. He watched the pair carefully and noticed that they seemed much closer than before. Jack's eyes, rimmed in soft kohl as usual, searched out the misty plains of the island. The girl's face showed concern. Jack turned back to her and to Gibbs' utter incredulity, he reached out a hand and squeezed hers.

He snapped the glass shut in shock and cleared his throat in amazement. Anamaria reached for the scope and he almost handed it to her but jerked his hand back at the last minute. She gave him an exasperated look. She thought he was teasing her but in reality, he didn't want her to see how friendly Jack and that girl had gotten; else she'd be in a snit for days and mostly take it out on him.

A sailor addressed her and she left with him, sparing one last annoyed glance at Gibbs who sighed in relief as she marched away. He trained the scope on the deck of _the Opal _again and shook his head, smiling to himself.

"Hell's frozen over … or sommat like that."

And so, the guns were aimed at the hull and waiting for further instruction while Jack and Ryoko stood on the deck of _The Black Opal_, staring at the foggy island that loomed like an omen of death.

…

Jack had instructed the girls and sailors that on the first cannon blast they heard, they were to get as far down to the floor as possible. It would be useless sending them up into a crew of ravenous pirates while they were unarmed. Jack knew that he had to give some signal to _the Pearl _so they wouldn't fire until the opportune moment, when Jack and Ryoko were in the cave.

Barbossa laid a hand on each of their shoulders, his grip bruising both their flesh though it seemed to remain light. He pushed them into a dinghy and waited for the crew to lower the boat. A raucous cry brought the men's head to the ship as a flurry of curses assailed their ears. Belle came out shouting and she didn't stop.

"Barbossa, you kumquat eating sea goat!" she exclaimed. "You be cheatin' me of me bounty! That prize is mine!"

"As well as it shall be, my dear," Barbossa called to her. "I'll bring back the bodies fer ya. And I hate kumquats." The small rowboat hit the water with a derisive splash and the swabs Barbossa had chosen began to row out toward the caves, each stroke of their oars another punctuation on the sentence of the Sparrows' death. A small flotilla of boats followed them, leaving only about six men aboard.

Jack heard faintly the sound of a songbird not found on Isla de Muerta and he cleared his throat and spit overboard, shaking his head in a seemingly involuntary shiver. Barbossa chuckled.

"Getting sick, are we Sparrow?" he sneered. "It won't matter in a little while. You'll be dead anyways."

Jack shrugged. Barbossa noted his confidence and didn't like it one bit.

…

"He says 'not yet'," Gibbs announced, his spyglass trained on Jack in the dinghy.

"Why the hell not?" Anamaria exclaimed. "If we wait any longer, he might not make it out."

"Who knows," Armstrong added. "But Jack be Jack. He's never been caught fer good yet."

"SQUAWK! Shiver me timbers! SQUAAAWK!"

"What is it, Cotton?" Gibbs asked tiredly.

"SQUAWK! Stand by to go about! Pieces of eight. SQUAAAWK!"

"I never can understand that man," Anamaria added. She whistled again, her voice becoming that of a songbird. Gibbs trained the glass on Jack.

"Fire!" he shouted. There was a slight delay but the cannons ripped through the air and smashed into the unprotected hull of _the Opal_.

…

Jack was listening very hard for the song. He was almost beneath the cave and if he passed through, there would be no saving him. Then he heard it, the ghostly song of a bird. He yawned loudly and nodded as if fighting sleep. Barbossa glanced at him in confusion but shrugged it off. "Sparrow, you're a tough man to understand, ye know."

"Actually, I'm quite predictable," Jack answered. "I'm one of those cockroaches that never seem to die no matter how many times we're caught."

"Well, yer roachin' days be over, Jack Sparrow. This is the end of th—" BOOOM!

"What in the blazes is goin' on!" Barbossa roared in a wave of white hot anger. "Cannon fire comin' from the back cay! Twenty four pounder from the sounds of it. All hands back to _the Opal_. My boat will keep on. Don't be thinkin' yer getting' away, Sparrow."

"Who, me?" he asked. "Wouldn't dream of it, mate."

…

Anamaria kept the starboard cannons trained on _the Opal _but sent the portside gunners into the cave to head off Barbossa. They funneled into the place and hid themselves within the nooks and behind mountains of gold. Barbossa's little boat glided into the cavern a moment later, silent as a ghost save for the water sliding along the oars.

When he yanked Ryoko rudely out of the boat and kicked Jack in the chest, one man decided to sneeze. Well, he didn't really decide to but it came out anyway. Barbossa's head turned and he glared around the cave.

"Gents, find the men and kill 'em." Barbossa's chosen four mean bastards began to fan out in the cave. Barbossa, with his newfound strength, dragged both Ryoko and Jack up to the mountain of gold.

"You don't really need to be here," he growled pungently in her face. "But I couldn't resist watching your face as this wretch dies."

"You'll never be half the man he is," she spat at him bluntly. "You are a despicable cad. An animal food trough whopper, spanker of other people's bottoms. I unclog my nose at you. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberry! Hah!" She grinned and he did what she thought he would. She knew there were crew from _the Pearl _in the cave and she needed to get to them for the plan to work. As he struck her again, she didn't move away but allowed him to hit her, hoping she didn't lose consciousness. She tumbled down the golden heap and fell into the water. She pretended to float face down, propelling herself forward with miniscule movements. A hand pulled her over and she was hidden from Barbossa.

It was an Asian crewmember of Jack's, a man by the name of Ichiroku. He put a finger to his lips and sliced her bonds. She nodded and grabbed a white and gold pistol from one of the piles. It wasn't loaded but it didn't have to be. She slipped a bit of silver into the barrel for looks and clambered up to the heap. The four men Barbossa had sent into the treasure piles had all been incapacitated and the crew was ready.

"Halt where you are, scumbag!" she shouted, pointing the gun at Barbossa. She moved as close as she dared and pointed it in a very steady right handed grip.

He laughed and smiled at her in a freakish manner. "Have ye forgotten, Mrs. Sparrow? I be immortal."

"This," she told him frankly. "Is silver shot. It will kill just as surely as normal ball with kill me."

"How do I know silver shot can kill me?" Barbossa asked annoyed.

"How do you know it can't?" she answered just as purposefully. "I'm not afraid to kill you. I've killed eight of your men, six by shot, one by cutlass, and another, by breaking his neck. My nerves are not fragile, Barbossa." Her voice did not shake.

"I still think yer bluffin'," he growled, stepping away from Jack. Jack was looking dead at Ryoko with a small smile on his lips. Unless one knew his face, they might have missed it. Ryoko was not looking however. Her face was glued to Barbossa's and her expression was not one of fear.

"There are things one can and cannot do," she told him, reciting the old familiar lines. "You can kill Jack and maybe me, or you can walk away from this, never to hurt us again, for you've already promised not to. This silver bullet may or may not kill you. I may even miss, but it's unlikely."

"You'll not kill me," he said again, firmly.

"Want to bet your life on it?" she asked him, her eyes narrowing. She needed him to come closer. She could see one of Jack's crewmembers behind them, attempting to signal Jack. She did something a bit rash. Taking the dagger from her boot with her left hand, she put it against the part of her right arm facing Barbossa. She knew that he hadn't fed that night and blood to a vampire as new as he was, was like dropping the precious droplets into the sea churning with sharks. She pushed until the tip bit into her flesh. She traced a quick line in a shot of pain across her forearm and heard him sigh.

"You would offer your blood for his life, now would you?" Barbossa asked.

"Would you accept?" she asked, blinking.

"No, but nice try," he lunged at her and at the same moment, Jack speared him with a cutlass, newly acquired from Ichiroku, the tip coming out of his chest. The blade gleamed even through the blood making Ryoko scream as the spray painted her arm with blood, he falling to his knees beside her. She pressed the barrel to his temple and shouted. "One move and you're dead for sure!"

"He's dead anyway," Jack answered.

"No, it wasn't a silver blade," she answered. "You can cut off an arm with that if you want but it won't do anything. Get a torch, quick!" Ichiroku brought her one and she gave it to Jack. Barbossa stared up at her with sullen eyes.

"Now, I'm going to back away. This gun is still aimed at you so I wouldn't move," she began to retreat slowly towards Jack. Barbossa stayed motionless. The sound of cannon fire was distant but audible. The sailors and girls would be on _the Pearl _by now with their flag of truce. They would explain the situation and before long, everyone would be happily on their way to a decent port.

"Torch him," Ryoko whispered with finality. "It's one of the few sure ways to kill a vampire. Light him up." Jack gave her a sidelong glance and touched the torch to Barbossa's plume. The flames licked down the feather and spread to his hat. Barbossa never screamed but stared at them, his eyes like two menacing lamps. Ryoko locked eyes with him and backed away, suddenly horrified. She started running at a breakneck pace and the others followed suit, all of them jumping into the dinghy and rowing out to _the_ _Pearl_, all chased by the flaming Barbossa and his terrifying eyes, whether literally or in their minds.

…

Jack, Ryoko, and the crewmen that had entered the cave climbed back aboard _the Pearl_, which was without wounds from the tirade of cannon fire. The girls and sailors were being guarded about the main mast by Gibbs and Schaeffer but the two men fell away when Jack told them the story. In fact, the only person not on deck, watching the remains of the sinking _Opal_, was Diana. Ryoko had forgotten about her however and didn't ask.

"Weigh anchor, hoist the sails, keep up the guns, man the oars. We're bound for Tortuga and I want to get there as quickly as possible." Jack's voice filled the decks with smiles and the men hastened to their duties, happy to oblige their newly found Captain. He gave Ryoko a glance and they beamed at each other.

"Let me see that pistol," he told her. She handed the white gun to him and he looked it over in his hands. He pulled out the piece of silver with a laugh and held it up in front of his face. "This is a chunk of a coin, luv. This gun wasn't even loaded with shot or powder."

"I know," she answered. "There wasn't any time to load it. I had to distract him long enough to get him away from you."

He laughed and picked her up by the waist, swinging her around in a circle. "Want to bet your life on it? I need to remember that line. Your bluff's as good as your threat, darlin'. I thought you really had shot!" He looked at his arm, which was wet with some dark liquid. He grabbed her arm and lifted it until he spotted the wound.

"That's going to need some care, luv," he told her. "You 'bout overdid it. Stevenson! See to it that she is patched and fine. Best of care, mind you." Ryoko was taken off with the man called Stevenson, the ship's surgeon. He was mad as a hatter, but only after he'd eaten pork. He was very well the best surgeon to come out of Tortuga.

"When we get there," Jack announced. "I'll give you all a week ashore to do as you please. You've served me well and deserve a break."

"Thank you, sir!" the crew cried. Most of them had come from the little seaside brawling town and would be eager to visit.

Jack smiled to himself and went to his place at the helm, whistling a well-known Disney Land tune.

…

Ryoko clenched a piece of iron in her hand as the surgeon cleansed and stitched her wound together. She had definitely cut herself deeper than planned but everything went all right. It was worth the pain. When she finally let go of the iron rod and looked at her bandaged arm, she smiled.

"Thank you," she told the man. She stood and walked from the room. She mounted the steps and flew up onto the main deck. She looked around and spotted Jack, gleefully back at the helm after a long time away from his beloved ship. She moved up to stand beside him and he grinned at her.

"How's your arm?" he asked. She raised it and showed him the bandage.

"It wasn't dangerously deep," she told him. "But deeper than I had wanted it."

Anamaria moved up on Jack's other side, giving Ryoko a little glare. "All's well onboard, captain. We're well away from Isla de Muerta. Permission to allow rowers a rest."

"Well, then I'd have to say permission granted," Jack answered. "We're far enough away that Barbossa and his sinking ship wouldn't be able to catch us. Scarlette, hold this steady for a bit while I go and check something. There's nothin' to it. Just hold it straight." He left Ryoko and Anamaria at the helm together, which may have been a bit of a mistake.

Ryoko kept one hand on the helm while she met Anamaria's eyes. The dark woman was not giving her a very friendly look. Ryoko didn't know what she had done to deserve such a glance from a woman she did not know. Remembering her previous encounters with Anamaria, she decided to try and be a bit more polite this time around.

Ryoko switched hands on the helm and held out her right to Anamaria. "I'm Scarlette, if you didn't know. Pleased to meet you." Anamaria took her hand hesitantly but gave it a strong shake, squeezing Ryoko's hand to test her. She squeezed back and Anamaria drew back first.

"I'll be forthright, Anamaria, as I usually am," Ryoko began. "I've noticed you don't like me and I can only ask why?"

Anamaria looked taken aback. "You're no normal woman. You were the one what come with Jack in the beginning. The one what had no clothes."

Ryoko tensed to fire some comment but sighed and swallowed her tongue. "I had underclothing on. Barbossa's rabid pirates took my other clothes and the big dress I had on had to be stripped off to allow me to swim. Do you understand now? I'm not some harlot, I promise."

"What are ye to the captain?" she asked just as bluntly as Ryoko had begun, however off topic. Although, to her, it was very much _on_ topic.

Ryoko's eyes widened. "You'll have to ask him that yourself." She was not about to step into that hole.

Anamaria scoffed. "I am the quartermaster of this ship and I worked to get that position. I'll not have another woman aboard that merely pleases the captain to get favors."

To her surprise, Ryoko laughed aloud. "Please the captain? That's one of the funniest yet! Trust me, Anamaria. I'm not after your job. I do not even wish to be part of this crew. And I sure as hell do not want to 'please' your captain. I am not under Jack's orders."

"Ye are," she contradicted. "As long as ye be in this ship, the captain's word is law. Mine is also, unless he chooses to exclude you from it."

Ryoko gave a small bow with her head. "In the event of his word, I shall obey, but until then, we're equals." Ryoko was trying but polite was just not her cup of tea, er … rum.

Anamaria's face twisted in a scowl. "It's amazing how Jack's traits have worn off on you. I would watch my place if I were you, little tart!" Anamaria stomped her foot in front of Ryoko and moved up close, trying for size in intimidation. Ryoko, rather than just stand, moved up as well and gave her green eyes that showed a ruthlessness all their own.

"That's not very nice," Jack said from behind the doorway. Anamaria turned to find him leaning in the doorjamb. He shoved off from it and sauntered over to them. He took the helm back and adjusted it about ten degrees south. "Anamaria, as my Quartermaster you have control over the crew and all I put under your power. That does not include Scarlette for obvious reasons. She owes authority only to me, if even that much." He muttered the last in a rather defeated tone.

"Be she takin' me place?" Anamaria asked.

"No, no," he answered, waving at her. "By all means, keep your position as Quartermaster. Scarlette wants none of that. I suppose I should have told everyone sooner. Scarlette; tell her your name."

Ryoko looked at him and shook her head a little. She didn't want to do what he was saying. He gave her a look that held more than words could. '_Don't screw this up_,' it said and seeing the acquiescence on her face, he nodded and smiled.

"My name is," she started, sighing. "_Scarlette Sparrow_."

Anamaria was speechless of course. She looked from Jack to Ryoko with her mouth open. "Why didn't you tell me? Jack, you needn't keep secrets from me." She moved over as if to shake his hand but whirled back and slapped him across the face again. She turned and shook Ryoko's hand, making the smaller girl brace herself for a slap as well but Anamaria didn't say another word, walking briskly down the deck and disappearing below.

"Not sure I deserved that," Jack muttered, rubbing his cheek.

"No, that one you deserved," Ryoko told him. She left as well, climbing the stairs to the captain's quarters. She had offered to sleep in the crews quarters on the floor or in a hammock but Jack had adamantly refused, giving her eye contact. The masquerade had begun and Ryoko was quite unhappy. She grasped the knob firmly and opened the door. A few men of the crew watched her go inside and scratched their heads. That door never opened for anyone but Jack himself and Jack hadn't been up to it yet. They had tried to get in before and the door hadn't budged, yet this woman opened it easily.

…

Meanwhile, below decks, Heather and Kristin were making themselves comfortable. Kristin was looking around for another hammock near her friend when the one she was touching suddenly sprang to life.

A thin girl with black hair and dark skin jumped from the hammock. She wore pale watercress green gingham embroidered with darker green silk thread. There was a butternut patch over her left breast and a stain on her right cheek.

"Who are you?" she asked. The girls heard a shriek and a monkey flew up from the hammock to perch on the girl's shoulder.

"Who are _you_?" Heather asked as well.

"My name is Diana," she answered. "I'm from the 21st century California. I was sucked into this time over a month ago. Judging by the state of your clothing, you were too."

"Yeah," Kristin answered. "But we're from Oregon. Did you come with Scarlette?"

"Who?"

"The girl with the golden hair, the one who's married to Jack," Heather answered.

"Married to Jack? Who's married to Jack?"

"Isn't her other name Ryoko?" Heather asked Kristin.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," Kristin agreed. "Ryoko Maxwell."

"Ryoko's married to Jack!" Diana screamed. "Holy shit! Wait 'till the others hear about this! Robin's going to kill her!"

"Robin?" Heather asked.

"Yeah," Diana answered. "Together, we were six people. There was Ryoko and her brother Nick, who is now Will's apprentice. There was Elizabeth Talbott, or Lizzy as we call her, and Robin Skiles. And then there was Claudia Gonzales and me, Diana Cobian. Claudia and I were originally on this ship but she got sick and had to be put on another ship going into Port Royal. Everyone else is over there with Will."

"Well, this is all we have," Kristin told her. "Scarlette and Jack were brought into the hold on Barbossa's ship and we thought up a plan to escape. It worked, I guess. I'm not sure how. We didn't see Barbossa's death but Jack said that they killed him together."

Diana shrugged. "At least that bastard is dead. Good riddance." Jack the monkey chattered jealously. He was being ignored by Diana.

"How cute! Is that Jack?" Heather asked. She reached out to touch the monkey but he jumped back a notch. Diana scooped him up and held him for them to see.

"It's all right, Jack," she told him and he calmed, his round black eyes looking curiously at the new girls. They scratched his head in turn and soon he was crawling over their shoulders as well.

The girls became silent as they heard angry footsteps coming down. They sank back into the darkness of the room and watched Anamaria storm through the deck, throw open the door, and descend to the next level.

"I wonder what's wrong with her?" Kristin mentioned.

"Maybe she's sick," Diana suggested. "I always head down rather than up when I have to puke. Or maybe she has to puke because she's like, pregnant or something. Oh! What if that's it!"

The next few minutes were full of the three girls chatter about such things and the monkey's intermittent screeches. Anamaria did not emerge and they eventually grew bored of the subject. Once, a loud sound echoed from below, as if something had been thrown and struck a wall or something.

The girls shrugged and continued playing with the monkey.

…

Elizabeth turned over in her bed. She was dreaming again and wasn't happy about it. She snapped awake and sat up in bed, surveying the dark room. Will was asleep beside her, childlike murmurs coming from him ever so often. She smiled and touched his shoulder. He opened his brown eyes and turned to look at her.

"I had another dream," she told him. He was suddenly awake, sitting up abruptly and meeting her eyes.

"What was it?" he asked cautiously. His wife's dreams had a habit of coming true or foretelling something.

"Jack and the girl made it onto _the Pearl _and Barbossa is either dead or drastically wounded," she answered. "That's all I remember. That … and …."

Will sat up even more and gave her a look of concern. "What is it?"

"Eyes," Elizabeth shuddered. "Glowing eyes. Eyes filled with so much hate and rage … terrifying. The others are safe however."

Will sighed in relief. "Thank God," he muttered. "I can't imagine Jack dead. I'll write a letter and send it to Tortuga. He did mention he would be going there again."

"Wait until morning," she told him.

"It is morning, darling," he told her, smiling. He moved to the curtains and opened them. The light spilled into the room, making Elizabeth blink in annoyance.

"What would you write to that fiend?" she whined, her spooky dream forgotten.

"He's not all that bad," Will answered. "He did save your life and mine. He's a good man."

"And a pirate," she added softly. Will turned around.

"Does it bother you that much?" he asked her in a slightly hurt tone. "For I am half pirate. Do not forget that you helped him, and he, you."

"There is a difference, dear," she told him. "You are a gentleman. Jack Sparrow certainly is not. And he only helped me for his own gain, or had you forgotten."

Will shook his head and began to get dressed. He left the room and before he closed the door, Elizabeth could already hear the other women awake and talking amongst themselves.

She hugged herself and stood. Her maid entered the room and helped her to dress. She stood at the mirror as Estrella wrapped a corset about her abdomen. She noted that normally, she could pull the corset to within an inch of closing without tightening the stays. The gap was an inch or so bigger than that now.

"Your waistline is thickening, Miss," Estrella, the maid told her. Elizabeth had expressed to her servants that she must know if she were losing her figure so this was not seen as strange or insulting.

"Oh, so it is," Elizabeth commented. "I must remember not to eat so much meat at supper." Estrella dismissed it and didn't lace the corset as tightly. Elizabeth thanked her and hastened down the steps to breakfast.

Will sat at the head of the table and was speaking to Robin, who was very excited. The others were just as keyed up, but Elizabeth didn't notice because they were not gazing in adoration at her husband.

"So write your letters for they will be in Tortuga soon," he continued talking. "If you write to your friend, I would address it to the name Norrington gave her, for that's what everyone is calling her, including Jack's mother."

"What?" Claudia exclaimed. "Jack has a mother?"

"Doesn't everyone?" Lizzy asked.

"At some point in time," Nick snapped, a tad angry. Though he did not remember his mother or her death, he had a heart and did not like blunt comments made about mothers. He was rather like one of the Lost Boys in that sense.

"I guess I forgot to show it to you," Will said sheepishly. He went and retrieved the paper and passed it around the table. "They were in New Orleans and it seems that Jack has a mother there. She claims to have been introduced to Jack's wife which, judging by her comments, could only be your friend."

Lizzy was giggling again and Robin was scoffing. "It's not fair!" she cried. "Why couldn't it have been me!"

"Hey, it could have been me," Claudia pointed out. "If I hadn't opened my mouth and told Jack who the real leader was ... oh, why do I have a conscience?"

Elizabeth through this exchange was silently sipping her porridge and ignoring everyone. She glanced up at Will and smiled. At least they weren't preening over her man.

"The ball is in two days," she announced, always willing to change the subject from Jack. "Your dresses are ready as well as any accoutrements you might need. I trust you all have escorts."

Lizzy beamed but the other two girls groaned and nodded. Elizabeth glanced at them in question. Robin had turned her head up and was looking haughty. Claudia had her head on the table and was shaking it, miserably. "What's wrong?"

"There wasn't much of a ... selection," Robin muttered.

"That is an understatement," Claudia snorted.

"Who are you going with that could be that bad?" Elizabeth asked. The girls looked at each other and sighed.

"I'm going with Mr. Gillette and Robin's going with none other than Commodore Norrington himself," Claudia answered sullenly. Elizabeth beamed.

"Well done! Robin, your relationship with James will be perfect! He is very rich and practically runs Fort Charles and—"

"Whoa, halt a minute. Relationship? I'm only going to the ball with him. I don't want to pick out curtains or anything," Robin held her hands out in front of her. "I don't … like him like that. I'm not even sure I like him as a friend or not! I mean, he tried to have one of my best friends executed!"

Elizabeth looked utterly surprised. "But you accepted. A lady should not accept unless she wishes to carry on." Claudia suddenly choked on her food. She got up, her face green, and rushed out the back door. Loud retching sounds could be heard from outside. Everyone carefully ignored it until Claudia came back and sat glumly at the table.

"Are you all right?" Will asked with genuine concern.

Claudia looked at him with bloodshot eyes and grimaced. "I just got the worst news of the century … I'm expected to … 'carry on' with Gillette. Why, Elizabeth? Why!" Claudia covered her face and slumped.

"It's not like that where we come from," Robin exclaimed. "Where I come from, you can go with anyone, even if you don't like them."

Elizabeth gasped and began fanning herself. "What a preposterous idea! How does one ever procure a husband?"

"We marry later too," Lizzy added. "You may marry as late as ... well, Ryoko's parents were 49 and 46 when they married, you know, her stepmother. But that was like ... her dad's second marriage."

"49?" Will asked. "That's old. That's older than your father, Elizabeth."

"49 isn't old," Claudia contradicted. "Old is like 70."

"I don't know anyone that old," Will answered truthfully and a bit in awe of Claudia.

"How old are you?" she asked with curiosity.

"Nineteen," he answered.

"No way," Nick said, flabbergasted. "He's only six more than me."

"Elizabeth, you're eighteen?" Lizzy asked. "When were you born?"

"March 18th," she answered.

"She's older than me," Lizzy sighed.

"She's older than all of us," Robin added.

"Even your friend?" Elizabeth asked.

"You know, our friend has a name," Robin snapped. "Ryoko is younger than Lizzy, but older than everyone else."

"She seems older," Will added. "The way she handles Jack just seems to add a few years, I guess."

They finished breakfast eventually and the girls set about to write their letters, as well as Will.

"What should I write?" Claudia asked. "I don't want to write everything you guys are. I sure as hell don't want to write bout Gillette."

"I think we should just have Robin write it," Lizzy suggested. "She's the best writer here and that way, we won't be repetitive. We can all contribute after all."

"Dear Ryoko, excuse me, Scarlette Sparrow;" Robin wrote. Claudia looked over her shoulder and saw that she had written exactly that.

"She's going to kill you," Lizzy commented.

"Not before I kill her," Robin contradicted. They began adding ideas and Robin wrote, only having to start over once, not that Ryoko would care if she scribbled. The day had just begun.

…

Mei Lin was wandering around New Orleans, avoiding the whores and the like as she maneuvered. She loved the wrought iron ornamental railings but didn't know how to say it. She padded along the street, skirting horse carts, and just explored the city.

She happened upon a paper in the street and picked it up, not so much as to read but to look at. She noticed Jack's picture on it and decided to keep the paper. She liked to keep trophies of her conquests and where Jack had not been killed by her hand, she still felt as if she had played a grand enough part in his demise.

She returned to the docks and found that her ship was improving nicely, the hull repaired and the keel reinforced. Her crew was off collecting cargo for the voyage to Isla de Muerta where she would join up with Barbossa again.

She felt good. Jack was dead, her ship was almost fixed, and she was on dry land again. Not much could go wrong at the moment.

She was walking along the street, minding her own business, when a man she didn't know approached her. His eyes were brown and his hair a strange mix of black and silver, though he was only in his late twenties.

She stopped as he held out his hand and looked at him quizzically. He bowed, keeping his eyes on her and she returned the favor.

"What you want?" she asked in her limited English.

"_Oh, don't bother to speak in the vernacular_," he told her smoothly in Chinese, though he was colonial American. "_Let's talk, you and I_."

"_Who are you and what do you want_?" she asked him as he led her down a side street.

"_My name is Dante Smith_," he told her. "_I am a demon hunter_."

"_Demon hunter_?" she asked him. "_What do you want with me, sir_?"

"_You are familiar with Hector Barbossa_?" he asked. She nodded. "_And what of the other, Barton James, I believe his name is_." She nodded again.

"_What I am offering is a joint partnership_," he told her. "_They are not the only ones I am hunting. You have no doubt heard of the contract out on the Sparrows_." She nodded, giving him a slightly suspicious look.

"_I am after Jack Sparrow myself, but the job is already taken care of_," she told him. "_Barbossa set out to kill them a week ago with the exact location of their whereabouts. Jack is dead._"

"_And what of the woman, Scarlette_," he asked.

"_I do not know but I told him that she should not die_," Mei Lin answered carefully. "_She is not human but a ghost. The Japanese word is Ryoko and Jack did call her that_."

"_Demon caller_?" he asked. "_If I am correct. My Japanese is a tad off. It also means 'to travel'_."

She shook her head. "_Ryokoo means to travel. Ryoko is demon caller. She was singing a terrible song in Chinese when I happened on the island and she was glowing like a ghost. The only way to kill Jack without risking her wrath was to kill him at the Island of Death. He should be dead right now_."

Dante Smith shook his head. "_I believe that at least one of them is still alive and I intend to find them. Would you mind allowing me passage on your ship_?"

"_You may come_," she told him. "_You may even kill Barbossa. He is a tyrannical idiot who deserves to be shot_."

"_Silver shot, I assume_," Dante added. "_I know all about what he and Barton are. I was commissioned to rid the world of these creatures and so I shall_."

"_They have a third with them," _she told him_. "A large woman by name of Belle Watling. She is also after the Sparrow bounty. You are after three demons, a ghost/demon caller, and a most notorious pirate. I am after Jack Sparrow, as is Barbossa and Belle. Barton could care less. There is a naval officer also after the pair as well as a number of other bounty hunters such as yourself. The price is too high to ignore the opportunity_."

"_Aye, that it is_," he agreed, holding out his hand expectantly. "_So what do you say_?"

She nodded and held out her hand. He took it in his large one and they shook on it. "_Done_."

…

It was the same night that Barbossa had been roasted and the crew was celebrating. Everyone was seated at the long table and the tops were laden with food, kept well on the voyage in the holds with salt and other preservatives. Jack sat at the head of the table, Ryoko on his right, Gibbs on his left. Next to Ryoko sat Heather, Kristin, Diana, Anamaria, Armstrong, and Marty. Beside Gibbs sat Cotton and his parrot, Dobereiner, Stevenson, Nathaniel, and a few others. The younger seamen sat around the table on the floor with their dishes in front of them, propped up on knees or boxes. Mainly the new sailors were on the floor but old Tom Stewart was given the honor of sitting at the foot of the table, directly opposite Jack.

"First of all men, and women," he added as an afterthought. Gibbs cringed and shook his head. "I have to say I'm mighty glad I'm back aboard _the Pearl _and you didn't leave without your good ol' captain. I'm also glad to see you didn't ravage out the stores while I was gone."

"Anamaria's to thank fer 'at," an old cockney man grumbled. Jack smiled.

"Well, obviously a ship has had no better Quartermaster than Anamaria. A toast to the Quartermaster!" Jack lifted his pewter chalice and the men echoed the cry, clinking glasses and wooden mismatched cups together. They drank a draught of their various drinks and put the cups down again. Anamaria, though still angry, was trying not to smile.

"And I'll also say this," Jack continued after a pause. "Certain things are off limits on board. Drinking at any time unless by my permission is one of them, and stepping out of bounds with others is another. I'll trust no one to step over with this one," he motioned to Ryoko, who rolled her eyes. "For if you knew who she was, you wouldn't think of it."

"Who be she, Cap'n?" Gibbs asked urgently. "You shan't keep secrets from us, eh."

"Yeah, Cap'n!" a burly barrel chested man covered in hair farther down the table by name of Dobereiner piped up. "Tell us whot's been up to."

"Well, then," Jack said looking around the table, his black rimmed eyes daring another man to speak. "I confess. It was my intention to let you think of what you wished but since you've pressed me a corner, I'll spill. The infamous, almost immortal, Captain Jack Sparrow," he received a few good-natured groans with this. "Has been taken astern, as it were, and shown a few things that would make a man shiver. In lee of that, I've had this woman beside me the whole time, matching me bough for bough and I decided I rather like a girl like that. This would be Scarlette, but she's Mrs. Sparrow to ye, gents."

For a moment, the table was silent and Ryoko half expected them to laugh and call Jack's bluff but looking at his face, she saw he was utterly calm, always the actor.

The table erupted in cheers and the men toasted to Jack and the blushing Ryoko. Diana's eyes were huge as she looked down the table to her friend. Ryoko met her eyes and Diana grinned wickedly. Ryoko shook her head and groaned. She would have to explain to her friends what was _really_ going on.

"You'll be sure not to touch any of my other guests as well," Jack added once the voices had died down. "That is unless you are invited to do so. In that case, I'll want the lady's word or I'll hang you from the bowsprit until your skin's caked with salt. I needn't speak for Anamaria for you all know she'll roast you alive." There several laughs and jeers at this and Anamaria held her head high.

"Without further ado, let's eat," Jack said. Everyone dug in, with the exception of Diana and Ryoko. Diana pushed the food around her plate, sticking small bits in her mouth at a time and forcing them down, a look of disgust on her face. She sipped the wine timidly, not daring to take more than a drop or two at a time for fear she would cast them on the very table.

Ryoko however was thinking. Why would Jack want to fool the crew and everyone they knew as well? And poor Anamaria was still angry with him. Ryoko didn't feel right about the situation and she was determined to speak with him later about it. She glanced around the table, saw the pirates gorging themselves, and began to eat at a slower pace than normal.

"Come, come, luv," Jack said to her. "I've seen you eat more than that. What's happened to your appetite?" She gave him a sidelong glance and grinned. This was a competition, she knew, and she would lose again. She couldn't beat him with food or drink but her pride never failed to let her try. She began eating as ravenously as the men, although not as messily about her as they were. She wiped her mouth and drank sparingly, keeping herself clean, and as for the drink, she had water. She knew Jack would challenge her later and she wanted to be fresh for it.

After most of the food had vanished from the table, Dobereiner exited the room and brought out something that looked quite large under a cover of tin.

"Me bein' ship's cook," he began. "And Jack bein' back an' all. Oi decided ta mek ye all a grand dessert tonigh'." There were cheers and gasps of where he got the materials for such a thing. He unveiled the dessert and they were left staring at a gigantic chocolate cake.

Dobereiner giggled. "Oi knew 'at Barbossa's men were mos'y in da cave so Oi runned ova ta _th'Opal _as he called it and stole some a their wares. There be sugar an' more meat in da 'olds dis moment. Not ta mention, fresh fruit. Dey's on'y been out a sea fer 'bout 'alf a week."

Jack gave Dobereiner a stern eye. "In any other circumstance, I'd make you sign your articles and clear out but seeing as this was in our honor and it was only Barbossa's ship, I'll write it off as if it never happened."

"It's all right," Heather said. "I had Subway for lunch." Kristin laughed but Diana and Ryoko stared.

"It's a new commercial for Subway," Kristin explained. "You must have been gone before it came out."

"I wouldn't have seen it anyway," Ryoko muttered. "I don't watch TV."

"How can you not?" Heather asked incredulously. There was a very large television in her living room. It was usually on.

"Because she reads and writes all the time," Diana answered for her. "That, and she's almost constantly grounded."

"Well, never fear," Jack entered the conversation. "You'll not have to tangle with those two boss wipes ever again." He took a long pull on his mug.

Ryoko looked at him and thought of what he was saying. He was basically telling her that she wasn't going back to her time. '_And he might be right_,' she thought to herself. She returned to her dish of fabulous chocolate and continued eating. '_None of us know just how Barbossa did it and he sure won't tell us, seeing as he's dead_.' Diana was making the same of her cake as she had her dinner.

Gibbs drank his draught and clapped his hands for silence. Jack gave him a little look in question and Gibbs winked.

"Seein' as we be celebratin'," Gibbs began. "I'd say it's right we have a bit of music to celebrate to. What say you, Cap'n?"

"I say aye," he answered grinning. "Haven't had much o' that in a long while. Stevenson, fetch your fiddle. Gibbs, I take it you'll do the harpsichord a favor."

"That I will," Gibbs answered, uncovering the old harpsichord in the corner. He struck a chord and the men shouted in glee. He began to bellow a tune.

"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Drink and the devil had done for the rest, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! With one man of her crew alive, what put to sea with seventy five."

"Oh, Joshamee," Marty groaned. "That be bad luck to sing it. Give us a livelier tune."

Gibbs grinned. "How 'bout old Growl?"

"Sounds good ta me," Anamaria answered from down the table. Stevenson returned with his fiddle and Gibbs and he tuned quickly.

Without warning, Gibbs dove into the song, his bellow like lungs giving way to a wonderful baritone.

"_To say you know a buccaneer is saying you have died. _

_ Unless you are that buccaneer with pistol by your side. _

_ A scalawag not worth two bits, a pirate bound for gold. _

_ Or gallows waiting by the shore for what is in your hold_."

Everyone who knew the song joined in.

"_The scourge of all the human race is floating on the sea. _

_ And searching vainly for the treasure, rich men they would be. _

_ The pirates mix their worst of traits and put them all to tune. _

_ Though pirates they be, they call themselves "Gentlemen of Fortune_"."

Jack claimed the next verse alone as was the captain's right if he so wished. Jack's voice was good enough on staying in key but not very dynamic as a singer.

"_And calling for the blood of foes, they cut each other down. _

_ And ravaging, committing several crimes against the crown. _

_ Any town would run a screaming if the crew were on the loose._

_ Though the fate that any pirate earned was hanging from the noose_."

Ryoko realized she knew the song, remembering it from a time long past and when the rest came in, she followed with them.

"_Woe to the British navy, on which pirates war they wage. _

_ Woe to the honest men who fight and face the Captain's rage. _

_ Woe to the new frightened sailors and woe then to their ships. _

_ And woe to any woman with whom pirates come to grips_."

Jack had been looking at her as she sang and he motioned to her to continue. The next verse was normally just the captain but he wanted her to stay on.

Their voices rose and the crew heard their first taste of her wide vocal range. She blended well with him, having had years of musical training prior to her journey to this time.

"_Though pirates are the scourge of man, tis rules they follow too. _

_ On ships there be certain things that no man's allowed to do. _

_ They are made to sign their articles, or face the great water. _

_ And if they don't obey, they will meet the captain's daughter_."

Everyone else chimed in, staring at Ryoko.

"_With sails that fill with wind upon which speed they have to gauge. _

_ The pirates loot and pillage making this their golden age._

_ The Captain down to gunner, and of course, his first mate. _

_ Get shares of plundered treasure, with many a piece of eight_." Everyone cheered and Stevenson wiped his brow. Kristin stood and touched his arm.

"May I try a bit?" she asked. "It's a fiddle. I play violin. They are similar. I want to know if you know this song." He handed it reluctantly over to her and she fiddled with the tuning strings a bit.

She grinned and struck up a tune all the future girls knew and Jack jumped at. It was, you guessed it, _A Pirate's Life For Me_. Jack had not taught it to his crew, though he'd vowed to, but a few of them knew it, and Ryoko of course.

"_Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me_," everyone sang. This was the only part of the song in which everyone chimed in, and they did so for every time it repeated.

"_We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot, drink up me hearties yo ho_." It was Jack, Ryoko, Heather (some of it) and Gibbs who sang but other than that, not many knew the lyrics. "_We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot, drink up me hearties yo ho. _

_ Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. _

_We extort, we pilfer, we pilch and sack, drink up me hearties yo ho. _

_Maraud and embezzle and even hijack, drink up me hearties yo ho. _

_Yo ho yo ho, a pirate's life for me. _

_We kindle and char and flame and ignite, drink up me hearties yo ho. _

_We burn up the city, we're really a fright, drink up me hearties yo ho. _

_We're rascals, scoundrel, villains, and knaves, drink up me hearties yo ho. _

_We're devils, we're black sheep, and really bad eggs, drink up me hearties yo ho. _

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. _

_We're beggars, we're blighters, and ne'er do well cads, drink up me hearties yo ho. _

_Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads, drink up me hearties yo ho. _

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me."_

"I really do love that song," Jack gushed. It was plain he was under drink. "I'm going to teach it to you all!"

The night wore on and the celebrating never seemed to end. Eventually, the majority of the crew had learned the song and a few of them had concocted a little dance routine. Of course, their drunken awkwardness was very silly but they livened up the night.

Ryoko was getting tired. She had been offered more than once a drink but had declined. Jack was still looking as fresh as when he'd began and Ryoko just couldn't understand why.

After a few hours, however, many of the pirates had fallen asleep where they sat, puddles of drool pooling under their chins, their lashes fluttering. Jack nodded and clapped his hands for attention.

"It's great to be back," he told everyone. "Thank you for such a warm welcome. In the morning, you'll receive fresh orders but until then, keep to whatever Anamaria assigned you." He stood and so did everyone who was able. They all went to their respective places and Ryoko followed Jack. He stopped at the helm and took out his compass. Ryoko didn't understand what he was doing because the thing didn't point north but then, it was his ship. She assumed he knew what he was doing.

He held the helm until Anamaria came to relieve him. He smiled at her but she gave him an icy glare. He nodded to Ryoko and they left the deck area to walk down the stairs.

She got there first and opened the door easily, entering without a thought. Jack was standing outside the door with a stunned look on his face. "You can open the door?"

She turned to look back at him. "Of course. Why, is it locked?"

"It doesn't need to be locked," Jack told her. "There is a spell on that door." He came in a closed it. "Only the captain of the ship can get in."

"Who put the spell on it?" she asked.

"A voodoo gypsy woman I know," Jack answered somewhat mysteriously. "But how did you get in?"

She shrugged. "All I did was open it. I guess your spell doesn't work on me, sorry."

"You don't believe me," Jack said bluntly. "Oh, well. A least if the ship is under siege, you can hide in here."

He set out two goblets and filled them to the brim with a red liquid. She sat at the small table and took one, sipping lightly. Rather than beat around the proverbial bush, she jumped right to the point.

"Is there some reason you decided to fool your crew as to my identity as well?" she asked, slightly angry.

He looked at her and sighed. "Would I have done it if there hadn't been? Of course there is a reason. And before you bite me head off, let me tell you, it was not to irritate you. Drunken pirates tend to let things slip. If I told them all about it, they could potentially let it slip to a stranger such as one who wouldn't fear my wrath. I'm doing it to protect you."

"And to annoy me, no doubt," she added. He grinned devilishly.

"I admit, that is fun as well," he laughed. She scowled at him. He sat next to her and gulped down his drink. She continued to sip it warily.

He frowned and looked at her. "What happened to your appetite for drink?"

She glanced sideways at him. "I'm not quite thirsty at the moment." He only laughed.

"You just can't keep up," he told her. He finished off the rest and refilled his goblet.

"I refuse to let my pride get in the way this time," she told him and pushed her cup away.

"Coward, you're turning," he muttered and she glared at him.

"I am _not _a coward, Jack Sparrow," she hissed at him.

"Then why be so . . . restrained?" he asked carefully. She snorted and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, that's real mature," he said sarcastically, draining the glass again. He thumped it down on the table with feeling and was surprised when she echoed him, slamming her own glass down, empty.

"My, my," he said with raised elbows. "You drink and speak like a sailor. Not many women could fill those boots of yours." He refilled her glass halfway with the red stuff but added some hard clear liquor afterward. It all mixed to become a thin looking pink color. She sipped it and swallowed hard, her face twisting.

"That's a little strong," she told him.

"That's why you don't drink the clear alone," he told her, draining his own once again, showing no signs of being drunk. She followed suit and choked, fanning her face. She glared at him defiantly and shook her head in an unconcerned way. They carried on that way for about an hour until they heard Anamaria shouting at some wayward sailor on the deck.

He laughed and she started giggling uncharacteristically. They looked at each other and she hiccupped. "That's enough for you, luv," he said, corking the bottles and stowing them in his cabinet. He smiled at her. She was still smiling at nothing at all. He held a hand out to her and she took it, allowing him to pull her up. She was unsteady on her feet and fell against him, laughing.

"You know," she said. "I just realized. We left Eric."

"No we didn't," Jack told her. "He's in the sick bay. Still unconscious, from the looks of it. Took a blow to the head by one of Barbossa's men. Stevenson says he'll live."

Ryoko smiled again and tried to stand but Jack held her fast. "You're not one for hard liquor, luv," he reminded her.

"And you obviously are," she pointed out. He bent and lifted her up bodily. She gasped and put her arms around his neck. He carried her to the bed and let her drop to it. She sat up and tugged her boots off, discarding her jacket and vest, sitting plainly in just her shirt and breeches.

A knock on the door brought both their attention to it. Jack strode to it and opened the door to find Gibbs.

"May I have a word with ye, Cap'n?" he asked, glancing at Ryoko. Jack nodded and stepped outside, closing the door. Ryoko listened hard but all she heard were their retreating footsteps. She got up off the bed and opened the cabinet, looking for something that wasn't liquor. The water was gone and she could tell by smelling the bottles, that the darker a liquor, the weaker. She found the darkest one and sipped it little by little until half of the long bottle was empty. She replaced the bottle and shut the cabinet. She hastily stumbled over to the bed and sat down again.

…

"What is it, Gibbs?" Jack asked, leaning against the mizzen.

"I been tellin' ya an' tellin' ya," he said. "It's frightful bad luck to have a woman on board and you've got five!"

Jack sighed and shook his head. "What do you profess I do, Gibbs," he asked. "Anamaria is irreplaceable as Quartermaster, the other three girls need to get to Port Royal, and Scarlette, well, that's self explanatory."

"I know what yer thinkin' Jack," Gibbs hissed. "The leader o' th' singin' women. I heard her sing tonight and trust me, yer wench knows her own voice to be sure. You really believe that ol' broad in the pub, you did."

"She has the ring, Joshamee," Jack added. "The emblem of our trade, a skull with ruby eyes forged from gold. There's no mistaking her. I believe the old woman."

"Tis nothin' but tales, Jack," Gibbs told him.

"Ah, but that's what everyone thought of _The Black Pearl_, you'll remember," he countered. "And now look." The fog billowed from the sides of the ship and the sails flapped in the wind.

Gibbs continued to shake his head. "You're mad, Jack."

Jack just looked at him. "I'm rather sorry you feel that way, Gibbs. I'll not force you to keep on. You've stayed to me throughout my risks without a word and I'll remember that. If you like, you can stay in Tortuga."

Gibbs looked up, his face sad. "I couldn't do that, Cap'n. I stayed by ya and I'll continue to do so. I be a man o' my word. Yer business is yer own." That was as close to an apology as Jack would get and he was satisfied. He shook hands with Gibbs and they left each other.

Jack entered the cabin again to find the room dark. Ryoko had extinguished the lights and was lying on the bed, the covers up to her waist. The shirt laid unbuttoned a third of the way down, showing a teasing line of pale flesh. He closed the door quietly and removed his boots as not to disturb her. Leaving the unnecessary articles such as his hat, jacket, and vest, on the chair, he sat on the bed beside her.

She opened her eyes, knowing someone was in the room but forgetting shortly where she was. She sat up in a fury, bent on repelling her intruder but was thwarted as he pinned her down.

"I thought we were over this?" he laughed, letting her up and flopping down next to her in a less than graceful move.

"Oh, it's you," she sighed in relief. "I forgot where I was. Sorry." He relaxed and stretched out beside her. She began toying with one of the strands of beads.

"Dice?" she asked. "That's neat. Where did you get these?" They clinked back together with an audible clack.

"Remember my gypsy friend?" he asked, taking her hand away from his hair ornaments. "She's given me a lot of my accoutrements. We'll no doubt see her and her brood before we leave Tortuga."

Ryoko looked up to where he propped himself up on one elbow. "Will you introduce me as your wife again?" she asked. "Not that I want you to, but I would like a warning before I assume an identity."

He grinned at her. "Assume an identity? You were getting pretty good at it on that island." She blushed in the dark but he couldn't see it. He might not have seen it in the light for she was flushed from the liquor.

"I—well I, uh ..." she stammered. He laughed and moved in to his cornered prey. He kissed her, leaving her breathless and speechless.

She was silent, looking at him in the dark, her eyes still bright. He wondered what was going to take place and decided that he would be the master of the situation this time. He traced her neck with his fingers, his hand wandering lower, brushing the shirt off her left shoulder. Her eyes followed his hand and hers came out of nowhere and grabbed the searching hand, her small fingers slipping between his.

He drew back a little and put his palm to hers, his fingers much longer than hers. He closed his dark hand around her small one and used it to draw her towards him. His other hand went to her waist and he pulled her against him, meeting her lips without a second thought.

He met no resistance from her as his hands massaged her waist. In fact, her arms went up around his neck, breathing softly against his throat, making chills race down his back. He hugged her thin little body close and his rough hands traveled up her back under the shirt to trace the brassiere.

His thumbs went under the shoulder straps of her bra. "Are you ever going to get rid of this?"

She merely smiled at him and he smiled back devilishly. "Are you telling me that's my job?" he growled.

"Why, Mr. Sparrow," she laughed, imitating Elizabeth. "I'm not sure I've had enough rum to allow that kind of talk."

He grinned even more. "I was talking about in general."

"Oh, well …" she said and smiled sheepishly. He took her small face in his hands and melted into her mouth, she reciprocating fully, her hands exploring the flat planes of his chest.

"But, your idea is just as promising," he told her.

_The Black Pearl _sailed on towards Tortuga, dawn approaching on the horizon.

…

Robin tugged at her tight dress, breathing incorrectly to allow the corset more slack. She thought she was going to die in the tight whalebone restraint and didn't care how lovely it made her figure look. She was about to ask the maid to remove it when the butler called her name. Her escort had arrived. She entered the parlor, her hair done up quite nicely in a fashion similar to Elizabeth's and her feet in ornate shoes. She grabbed her parasol and went to meet Norrington. He smiled broadly when he saw her and offered his arm. She took it with a hesitant smile of her own and he led her outside to a grand carriage led by a team of chestnut horses.

Lizzy's date had come first, and then Robin's. She sat beside the Commodore, nervously wringing her hands and hoping he didn't get the wrong idea from her accepting.

"Have you heard from your friends?" he asked. "They haven't returned yet."

"No," she answered. "We wrote them a letter the other day but other than that, I haven't heard anything."

"A letter? To where was the address?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked him teasingly. "You have no need for the information."

"Robin, dear. You can trust me. I won't send soldiers off to catch the Sparrows. My word, as a man of honor, you may tell me anything."

"You swear to God?"

He flinched. "I would rather not, but yes."

"They should be landing in Tortuga in a few days' time." She whispered this very quietly.

"Tortuga?" Norrington asked, matching her tone. "Why there?"

Robin shrugged. "I'm not sure. All I know is that that's where Jack told us to mail anything."

"I understand you are good friends with Scarlette Sparrow," he brought up.

"She isn't really married to him," Robin told him. "This whole fiasco started with you telling the execution master to address it to her that way."

"Well, she wouldn't give me her name," Norrington answered.

"She's bound to be very angry with you when she returns," Robin warned him, and with good cause. "She isn't a criminal, just morally inclined to help the one she deems worthy of it. She didn't want Jack to get hung and so rather than run away at her own expense, she decided to stick with him and try and get him out of here."

Norrington was nodding. "And in doing so, she earned a price on her head nearly equal to his. One good deed is not enough to save a man who has committed uncountable crimes against the crown."

"As he said before," Robin answered. "It seems enough to condemn him, and his friend. Would you know it, Jack saved my life as well."

Norrington looked at her in lee of this news.

"If he hadn't, I'd be dead or meat for that creature Barbossa."

"I thought Barbossa was dead," Norrington said.

Robin shook her head. "He was brought back to life somehow. Elizabeth thinks that Jack has killed him again somehow but no one is sure."

Norrington sighed and thumped his fist against the carriage door absently. "You know I cannot help but follow the law. If Jack or Scarlette do anything here that is out of bounds, I'll have no alternative but to hang them or one of them, depending on what goes."

"I understand," Robin told him coldly. The carriage stopped and Norrington opened the door, helping Robin out, carefully avoiding the mud. They entered the brightly lit ballroom and Robin was amazed at once by all the spinning colors, the dresses of the other women, and the quartet of strings with their flute player winding music throughout the large room.

Governor Swann himself was dancing with an older woman and Robin spotted Elizabeth dancing with Will. Nick was being dragged along by a woman as well, his face tortured. Norrington offered his arm to Robin and she stared at it for a moment, wondering what she should do. She looked up and met his eyes, taking his arm in the same instant. He swung her onto the floor, making her fly as easily as the other women did. He was a wonderful dancer and Robin, though new to the waltzing dances, felt confident when she danced with him.

She watched as an arm came out of nowhere and tapped Norrington's arm. They both turned to find another man, Tavington to be exact, standing before them. He bowed shortly. "May I cut in and dance with Miss Skiles?" Norrington looked to Robin, who shrugged. He nodded and backed off, allowing Tavington to take over.

He swept her away from Norrington, moving closer to the musicians. His ice blue eyes met hers and he spoke with a chilling tone.

"How are you tonight, Miss Skiles," he asked her, an ominous feeling to his voice.

"Fine, or I was," she told him. He ignored the insult and continued to dance.

"I am told Elizabeth is already married to that boy, William Turner," he said slyly. "Is this the truth? The man I heard it from is dead and not a very trustworthy soul."

"You killed him?" Robin assumed. Tavington nodded.

"I always kill the lying messenger. I wanted information and I was paying him to get it for me, not to toy with my mind."

"And what if he wasn't toying with your mind?" Robin snapped. Tavington gripped her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Will you lie to me too, girl?" he hissed in her face. Her breath had caught in her throat and her heart was beating quickly, thudding against her sternum so hard she could hear it over the music.

"I'm not lying," she gasped in pain. He was hurting her arms.

"Robin, I'll not hesitate to kill you here," Tavington growled. "Society has made of me an unhindered man and my scruples do no longer exist."

"Calm down!" she cried. "You're insane!"

"Foolish woman!" he shouted in her face. "Do you not know that commanding someone to calm themselves always makes the rage hotter?"

"Mr. Tavington, unhand her this moment or you will hang for brutality," Norrington had followed them discreetly and intercepted at just the perfect moment. Tavington released her and she went willingly to Norrington's side.

"Well, well," Tavington said, circling them. "Again we fight over a woman, James. I believe you lost Elizabeth just as much as I did."

Norrington looked down at Robin and she shrugged. "I didn't tell him."

"In that case," Norrington added. "No, I did not loose her as you did. I let her go, as her heart was not with me. She had accepted my proposal which is more than you can say now, isn't it, Mr. Tavington."

The aforementioned man snarled in anger. "Curse you James Norrington. Curse your fine family and riches and curse that girl beside you. I'll get my due before this night is out."

He whirled around and stormed from the ballroom. Norrington sighed and led Robin away from the floor, searching for Will.

"Wait here," he told her. "I'm going to inform Mr. Turner of the danger present." Norrington disappeared into the crowd of dancers and Robin sat alone, shivering. She could feel where Tavington's fingers had pressed and knew she'd have bruises in the morning. The tracts he'd left were already red.

Claudia came and sat beside her. "Hi. Let's pretend I'm sick so Gillette will stop asking me to dance." She glanced at her friend's face and her whole manner changed. "What's wrong?"

Robin relayed the past few events and Claudia's eyes grew large.

"I wonder who could have told him." Claudia spoke, her voice very near a whisper and difficult to hear over the music. Just then, Governor Swann stood on the musician's pedestal and cleared his throat. The hall became quiet and Robin could see Norrington and Will standing side by side. Elizabeth had gone to join her father. Robin and Claudia stood and faced the Governor. There was a multitude of applause as the Governor bowed politely at his crowd of invitees.

"First of all, welcome to my house. I hope you are enjoying yourselves." Several people cheered again. Nick scowled but raised his glass. The Governor gave a good-natured smile and waved them to be quiet. "It is fortunate for us that the war abroad has had so little effect on our lives here. We still receive trade items from India, though not as often as we would like."

"If their Nawab would stop being such a nuisance, we would," Norrington commented.

"I trust you all received invitations or were invited by escorts. Under this roof tonight is all the gentry in Port Royal and I am glad to have you. As for the occasion of my invitations, I have become a very proud man, or will become soon." He smiled at his daughter.

There were murmurs throughout the great room and Will looked at Elizabeth in question. She smiled at him but gave no other sign besides a little gloved finger wave.

"In a few months' time," the Governor continued. "I will be a proud grandfather. My daughter Elizabeth Swann Turner has informed me that she is expecting a child."

The hall was silent for a few seconds but erupted in cheers so loud Robin had to cover her ears for the sound, though she was cheering herself. Will's face was stupendously hilarious. His eyes were very large and round and his mouth hung open like a cave. Norrington nudged him with a smile and Will broke out of it.

"I didn't know!" he exclaimed, clasping hands with the Commodore.

"I can tell, old friend," Norrington laughed. "Your face was worth a golden guinea, I'd say."

"Did you know about this?" he asked the Commodore.

"No, sir," he answered, still grinning. "It's as much news to you as it is to me."

Elizabeth met Will, her smile making her face shine with happiness. She hugged Will and he swung her around and kissed her cheek.

"I am so happy right now," Will told her. "I could dance forever!"

"You'll have to allow me some rest," she told him giggling. "I'm going to have your child, dear."

"Ah!" he cried, smiling broadly. "I love you!"

Robin sighed, watching the happy couple. Right then, she wished for someone, anyone who would love her like that. She wanted to shine in someone's eyes. She shone all right, just not in the right way. A rough force swept her out of her chair and held her like a vice.

A shout rang on the air and the attention of the crowd turned to the owner of such a voice. Tavington stood near to the door, Robin held across his chest by one arm, her face very frightened, her feet dragging on the varnished floor. He had a double-barreled pistol in his hand, the barrels touching her temple. Claudia sat on the floor with a very bloody arm, a knife sticking out at an angle. She stared at the knife in disbelief and touched it gingerly, tears falling from her eyes. Gillette helped her to her feet and she yanked the knife out by herself, causing him to gasp. The spray of blood covered his coat in a brilliant stain.

Tavington addressed the hall, their attention commanded merely by the circumstance. "I see what you've done, Governor. Marry her off to another, you would, and did by the looks of it. Well, I'll have none laugh at me, to be sure. I'll have none pity me either. I'll take this one and you'll receive my terms tomorrow. Congratulations, by the way, Mrs. Turner. I hope your child grows to be as beautiful as you." He backed out the door with Robin still pressed to him and she gave a scream. Norrington rushed forward and the shot rang clear.

Robin watched the Commodore fall with a bellow and felt a twang of guilt. She decided that the longer she could stall Tavington, the sooner help would come for her and those injured. She reared up and screamed for all she was worth, sacrificing looking tough for being heard. Tavington gave a shout and tried to quiet her to no avail. Robin could be loud when she wanted, and she was squirming like no other.

Tavington finally gave a great shove to her midsection, right where the corset pinched the worst. She flopped silently.

Tavington raced away, triumphantly throwing the now unconscious Robin over his shoulder. Norrington was bleeding from a wound on his side and Claudia's arm was drenched in crimson liquid. A man knelt by Norrington, whose wound was more life threatening, and announced that he was a doctor. He pried about the wound for a few minutes, clucking away to himself and finally sat up.

"This man will live," the doctor announced and there were more cheers. "The bullet has passed through and exited, not even taking any cloth in with it. It missed everything vital as well. You are a lucky man, Commodore." The doctor stood and walked to Claudia. He took his knife and sliced the delicate fabric of her dress until he had bared the wound. There was a neat line that blood rushed from and he touched it lightly.

"About four inches deep," he told her. "I hate to tell you, but you may never use this arm again."

"What?" Claudia exclaimed. "Isn't there something you can do?"

He nodded. "I will try my best. We must get you and the Commodore into beds. Governor, I trust you'll allow them to sleep under your roof. I would hate to move them."

"Of course," Gov. Swann answered, his face deathly pale. He was shaking and fiddling incessantly with his buttons, undoing them all and then buttoning them back only to repeat the process over again, his hands shaking as he did.

Elizabeth leaned against Will for comfort and he put an arm around her protectively. Nick leaned against a wall, indifferent to the situation, though he had just witnessed a kidnapping and an attempted murder. Claudia had only been stabbed because she had been in the way, attempting to stop him from grabbing Robin. Norrington too hadn't been Tavington's main target. His words and threats were all for Will and Governor Swann.

Claudia finally fainted and had to be carried up the stairs, followed by Norrington, who, holding his wound, was aided by Gillette and another naval officer, Lieutenant Groves.

Everyone of the Turner party decided to stay at the Governor's house that night for fear of Tavington lurking about. Lizzy cried that Robin needed to be helped but again, like when she had turned back to save Ryoko the first day they had come, she was dragged back from going after her friend.

…

In the moonlit cave laid the charred remains of Barbossa, his skeleton blackened by the fire, his greenish blue eyes with their yellow whites still glaring straight ahead as if he had breath. His clothes had not burned for some odd reason so that he appeared to be one of the cursed ones. With no one to tell them, the crewmen that were not familiar with the curse had taken handfuls of the Cortez treasure and within minutes, found themselves cursed. The former pirates, learning what they had done, made no move to help them.

Barton and Belle stood above their felled comrade and Belle actually looked sad.

"Is he dead?" she asked.

"In a way," Barton answered. "To tell you the truth, the blood I gave him should have kept him alive. He was my first fledgling and should have survived that. Just a moment." He cut his wrist and let the blood fall upon the skeleton at their feet.

They could feel the buildup of power as the blood soak in spots on the charred bones. When the blood fell into the thing's gaping maw, life sparked in the brilliant, gem like eyes, made beautiful against the blackness of the skull. To the pirates around the area's horror, the thing sat up and latched onto Barton's wrist, one black spindly hand clench around the living man's arm. Barton never flinched and he called out for the men to stay calm and little by little, Barbossa came back.

He was gaunt and his skin was a very dark brown, but he was alive.

"That be the second time you've brought me back from hell's gate," he told Barton, shaking his hand. "And both times I was sent there by Sparrow and his consorts, although, the one who killed me this time is debatable. That woman, Scarlette Sparrow, has to die. She knows too much. I'm going to kill them both!" He walked down the treasure pile and splashed through the water. Once he was out of the cave, Barton cringed. He could hear Barbossa screaming outside and in a few moments, the old sea captain returned.

"The ship is gone," he announced, trying for calmness but failing. The crew moved away, quickly.

"Sunk," Barton agreed. "_The Black Pearl _was waiting for us and shot her down."

"That's why they let Mei Lin go," Belle pieced it together. "Was she not the one who told you that to take them any other place for death would bring the ghost down upon you? _The Pearl _was here all along. Jack just needed a ride to get him here and we ruined that when we attacked that passenger freight. We've been beaten at our own game."

"Curses!" Barbossa screamed again. He whipped out his pistol and all the mortals in the cave ducked. He pointed the thing at his own head and let the shot fly. It passed through his head, obviously a fatal wound, but the skin he'd shot just re-knit and refilled like putting putty in a nail hole. He looked at his pistol incredulously. "It's defective!"

"It is lead," Barton pointed out. "Don't be killing yourself, Barbossa. No good will come of it. At least wait until Jack Sparrow is dead. We are immortal, meaning we've got all the time in the world."

"I want to kill him myself," Barbossa exclaimed. "I don't want to wait for him to die of old age."

A noise rang out and a lookout entered from the other side of the cave. "_The_ _Dragon_'s comin' up, sir," he announced. "She's 'bout four hours away and gaining fast. We'll be on board soon."

"Good work," Barbossa grunted. He sat down on the chest of Cortez and spit.

"I hope you're satisfied, Watling," he snapped at Belle. "You didn't lose your bounty."

"No," she said. "I've still got that to look forward to, but seeing as we're immortal, that money doesn't mean so much anymore.

"Aye," Barbossa agreed. "Nothin' seems so important when you can't die. You've suddenly got time fer everything. At least in this form, we can feel."

The pirates were silent and before dawn, Mei Lin's ship, Dante waiting within, arrived. Everyone boarded and they set off for Tortuga, five days behind _the Pearl_.

…

Well, what did you think? I wrote the first song they sang on _the Pearl _and the second, well, A Pirate Life for Me I certainly didn't write. That was written by X. Atencio and some other guy. A disclaimer to Subway and Devil May Cry. Dante Smith (Jose) is actually a good friend of mine that lives in California. He's going to UCI right now and told me I'd better publish a story with him in it soon or he'd forget about me so here it is. He has the perfect role for he wanted to be a demon hunter and he's obsessed with Asian girls. The page count is ... 202! Nifty.

~Re-visited on 11-7-06 … new page count is 294


	12. Chapter XI : The Plot Thickens

Hi there. No one believed me when I said my dad hated me but now I guess you all have proof. He's booting me coming my 18th birthday, May 9th, and by Johnny Depp's birthday, June 9th, I'll be on my own. And then of course, the date I want this fic to be finished, July 9th, well, we'll see about that.

**Chapter XI – The Plot Thickens **

Robin woke in a small room, tied to a chair, her dress tattered at the hem and stained with sand and grit. The room was dark but she could see gray light from behind the curtains of the windows. She was gagged and her voice didn't reach very far. The ropes at her wrists and ankles chafed whenever she moved and she was mightily thirsty.

She had been sitting for some time wondering on how she was going to escape when the door opened and Tavington entered.

"How are you faring, my dear?" he asked. She glared at him and attempted to kick out at him. He only laughed and pulled the gag from her mouth.

"Fuck you, asshole!" she exclaimed, spitting at him. "Let me go!'

"No, my dear," he told her in a patronizing tone. "You are my ransom."

"What do you want? Elizabeth is already married! Go crawl into a hole or something."

"Would you take her place?" he asked her, looking meaningful.

"Of course not," she answered. "I'd rather marry Norrington than you."

"You may get your chance," he told her angrily. "I've sent off my terms and the Commodore himself is coming today to negotiate."

"Negotiate! There's nothing to negotiate about! You will let me go and leave this place."

"Not until I procure what I want," he told her. "You see, I may not be able to have Elizabeth, but I can surely have you. No one has laid claim to you, poor girl."

"Fuck off," Robin spat. "You aren't fit to wipe the Devil's boots let alone marry me."

"My aren't we humble," he laughed, tipping her chin up. "Or, I can receive a certain bit of information on the whereabouts of the Sparrows." He watched in glee as Robin's eyes grew wide.

"I have no idea," she told him, very convincingly. "Ryoko never told me where they were going."

"Ah, but you do know," he told her. "The coachman of Norrington's carriage is under my employ. He heard you tell Norrington you knew about it but you didn't tell him loud enough to hear the location. And who is this Ryoko person you speak of?"

Robin looked angry enough to boil concrete with her blood.

"You see, if I cannot have Elizabeth, and you are this unwilling, then I will still rake in the guineas for killing those two swashbuckling fools. I can buy all the whores I want, then," he smiled at her. "Are you going to tell me?"

"Never," she told him simply. His hand came out of nowhere and struck her across the face. It didn't really hurt, not really, but she knew that behind that controlled blow was much more strength, and she was afraid. She moved back to look at him.

He stood there, exercising his wrist, turning it in slow circles so that the crack of bones moving could be heard.

"You do know that I will not stop, correct?" he asked her.

"I've seen your set of morals," Robin snapped. "You'd stab a defenseless girl to get what you wanted."

"That's right," he answered truthfully. "_You're_ very defenseless right now. Take care that I not find reason to repeat the action, in a perhaps more deadly spot."

He chuckled softly and cracked his knuckles ominously. She swallowed. The next blow was harder, but not aimed at her face. She let her air out on a loud violent exhale, her stomach pitching from the blow. '_I'm going to faint_,' she thought. '_Damn that corset_.' But Tavington was dancing about shaking his hand. The blow to the whalebone had hurt him as well. Robin hung her head down and pretended to be unconscious, hoping maybe he would leave and she could try getting out again. He replaced the gag carefully and did leave, locking the door from the outside. She looked up immediately and began working at the ropes, biting into the gag as her skin became raw and bloody in the effort.

Meanwhile, Tavington was choosing a weapon from his collection of silver knives.

…

"I will go," Norrington told Will. "There is no getting around it. It may be my fault that all this happened."

"But you are still wounded," Will pointed out, trying to keep the Commodore in bed.

"Let me go," he told him tiredly, pushing the younger man away feebly.

"You may be killed, sir," Will told him. "What would Fort Charles do without you?"

"You've still got Lieutenant Gillette and Captain Groves." Norrington answered fruitlessly. Will shook his head.

"Sir, you and I both know that Gillette is useless as a commander and Groves lacks in responsibility."

"That, you are right," Norrington agreed. "But who do you suppose would go in my place?"

"I will," Will answered, smiling a little.

"No, Mr. Turner," Norrington. "You must be there for Elizabeth, especially in light of the news. You're going to be a father."

"We could send Gillette or Groves," he suggested. Norrington shook his head.

"Gillette would give in to terms too easily and Groves, well, he might kill the man in a rage, which might not be too lamentable except for the blood spilt would reflect upon me."

"But you cannot go," Will said shaking his head.

"I must. It is an act of duty and even if I am killed, which I doubt, I will not regret it," Norrington held his head high.

"You have feelings for Miss Skiles, don't you?" Will guessed. Norrington didn't answer and was saved from doing so when Angelique entered timidly.

« _Angelique_, » Will began. « _Tu s'habille Monsieur Norrington, s'il te plait. Il va a la maison de Monsieur Tavington. Regarde son cicatrice, aussi_. »

"What did you say to her?" Norrington asked as Will was leaving the room.

"I told her to help you dress and to check your wound, Commodore. You are going to Tavington's house."

Norrington nodded. "Thank you, William Turner."

"Thank me when you come back alive, James Norrington," Will answered nodding back. He disappeared around the doorjamb and left Angelique to cluck nonsense French over Norrington.

…

Ryoko awoke much later than normal, her head pounding, but not as much as it usually did after she drank herself silly. Jack was not in the room and she thanked God for that after she threw the covers back.

She looked down at herself and almost freaked out for one simple reason. She wasn't wearing anything. She ran frantically around the room, throwing on clothes when she found them. She didn't find her future undergarments and was left to improvise. She used a scarf to support her chest and was satisfied with the appearance when the shirt was buttoned. She refused to think about what might have happened the night before, whether it had been a dream or not. She purposefully blocked it out, knowing if she mentally reviewed it, she would not be able to look Jack or her friends in the face.

She was looking through the closet when she came across a dark purple dress that looked very familiar. It was the dress Elizabeth had worn on _the Pearl_ when taken by Barbossa. Ryoko pulled it out and put it up against her.

"This might actually fit," she muttered to herself. "Not now, though. I am not wearing that today." She replaced the dress and ran an ivory comb found in a drawer through her hair. This took several minutes for her hair had become quite tangled. She was determined, however, to rid it of knots.

She sighed as she looked at the ends. They were split beyond help and there was nothing left to do but to cut them off. She tied them back and went below to fetch a basin, filling it with a little water from a barrel.

She sat it in front of the mirror in the cabin and looked down into the basin, which was strangely clear, showing her reflection very unmistakably.

"Who have I become?" she asked herself, glancing from the basin to the mirror. She looked back into the water mirror and saw someone different from in the normal mirror. The big mirror showed who she thought she was, but the water mirror showed her the truth. She was not a 21st century teenager anymore. She was a pirate, or more specifically, a pirate's wench. She cringed when she thought of that and wet her hair, happy when she spilt her reflection into countless pieces.

She cut off about six inches and was glad that it actually came out straight, though she missed her long hair. It had been down to her waist and now barley came as far as her mid back. She shook her head to clear it of any rogue hairs and took the basin out to empty it, not risking another glance in the truth-telling mirror.

She returned to the cabin, put on her boots and a vest, tying her hair back and making sure both the skull ring and the emerald were around her neck. They clinked merrily together, as if they were meant to ride upon the same neck.

She moved down to the below decks were Heather, Kristin and Diana were playing with Jack the monkey. The monkey never came near Ryoko again, though he had the first night she'd been in the cave.

She could only think of one thing that had changed and sighed, pushing it from her mind. She sat on a hammock and talked to the girls.

"Well, we're bound for Tortuga," she announced. "I hope you're excited."

"It'll be just like the ride!" Heather exclaimed. "My dad has so many CDs and things at home from Disneyland. Any pirate fan, or Small world fan or any fan would be in heaven at my house!"

"Well," Ryoko said, grinning. "I've got a fair bit of Disneyland paraphernalia at my house as well."

"You're talking like a pirate, Ryoko," Diana muttered. "Snap out of it."

"I am a pirate, luv," she grinned imitating Jack to the point of creepiness. "And I may well be," she added, switching to her normal voice. "Even if there was a way to get back, I don't think Jack would let me go."

Diana grinned. "But don't you have someone you like back in our time?"

"Who?" Ryoko asked. "Oh, him. He can go to hell, for all I care. He may have said he cared for me but as far as I'm concerned, I have no feelings for him anymore. I don't think he ever cared to begin with. Stupid teenage boys. They should all be shot."

"Besides, it doesn't matter who this guy is," Heather commented. "His competition is Jack. No man could win with that sort of opposition."

Diana and he other girls giggled. Another voice rang out on deck and the pounding of small feet could be heard. Coming down the stairs a moment later, was Eric. She cried in delight when he spotted Ryoko and launched himself in her direction.

"Scarlette! Scarlette! You're alive!" He crawled up in the hammock she was swinging on and latched onto her arm.

"Of course I'm alive, silly," she told him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Jack said you were sleeping like the dead," Eric told her.

"Oh," Ryoko couldn't help but blush. The girls started laughing and make suggestive comments.

"Oh, knock it off," Ryoko told them. "Diana! I'm ashamed at you of all people, who know me the best of everyone here."

"But you _are _married to him," Diana pointed out. "This isn't like the Gallegos or Arenas comments."

Ryoko shook her head. "And you'll be glad to keep those two ... rumors a secret. I've left those behind."

Diana laughed and the other girls looked confused. Ryoko decided to enlighten them as lightly as possible.

"Let's just say I've been called other names beside Sparrow or Maxwell," they seemed to understand but Eric was still confused. "I'll tell you when you're older," she told him and he whined.

"I be eleven and ..." he counted on his little fingers. "Seven eighths. My birthday's December 1st!"

"Really?" Ryoko said in mock surprise. She looked thoughtful for a minute. "Does anyone know the date?"

"We were captured on November 10th." Kristin answered.

"That was almost a week ago," Heather added. "So around the 14th or 15th."

"I was brought here July 16th," Ryoko thought. "No way has it been that long. I've only been here about a month and a half, not four months."

"Maybe time flows differently back home," Heather suggested.

"Or maybe when we came here," Diana thought. "It wasn't July. Maybe it was September."

"Eric," Ryoko told the boy. "Go and ask Jack what day it is."

"Okay," he answered and scampered up the stairs.

"He's so cute," Kristin gushed. "He's so tiny! Where did you find him?"

"He was a stowaway on a passenger ship we were riding on," Ryoko explained. "I was bringing him food and water when Jack found out. Then we were attacked by Barbossa and the other ship, the Chinese one. Eric ended up coming with us on our escape."

"Why wasn't he in the brig with you two?" Heather asked.

"Barbossa pressed him into service, I guess," Ryoko answered shrugging. "He was knocked out in the fight, trying to get away I suppose. One of the sailors brought him back over to us."

"Thank God," Diana added. "Or he'd be dead right now. _The_ _Opal _sunk after just a few shots with no one to retaliate."

"I'm just glad _The Poison Dragon _wasn't around," Ryoko added. "Jack claims that he could have taken both ships down but I doubt it. _The Dragon _could have come around behind _the Pearl _and then where would we be? Jack would be dead and I might be as well."

Eric came down and smiled. "He said it's September 1st, Tuesday, 11:36 ½, 1758, AD."

"It figures, him being the joker, though I'll debate on the time," she answered. "He doesn't have a clock."

Diana suddenly gasped and grabbed a handful or Ryoko's hair. "You cut it!"

"I had to," Ryoko sighed. "It was all split to hell."

"At least it doesn't look like it has things ... growing in it," Heather said giggling. "Jack's hair is frightening."

"But he's still hot," Kristin gushed. "Sorry, Scarlette."

Ryoko shrugged and grinned. "I don't care if you look at him that way."

"Let's take a vote," Heather suggested smiling. "Jack or Will?"

"All for Jack," Kristin said, raising her hand. Ryoko looked around and raised her own a bit hesitantly.

"I vote for Robin and Claudia as well," Ryoko added. "So that's four."

"All for Will," Heather added, raising her own, as did Diana, strangely.

Ryoko raised her hand again. "I'm voting for Lizzy and Elizabeth of course."

"That's four!" Heather exclaimed. Kristin's hand shot up again.

"Five here," she grinned. "Anamaria counts."

"Jack'll win anyway," Ryoko told them. "You don't know how many dirty looks I got in New Orleans from women he knew and I'm sure there'll be more in Tortuga. Scarlet and Gisele will be there. (Notice the different spelling. Scarlette Sparrow, Scarlet of Tortuga) I'm afraid of being lynched or something."

"Ryoko, Scarlette, whoever my friend has become, you are not yourself," Diana told her. "You were the scourge of Warren High. The girls were afraid of you, as were most of the boys. No woman is going to get the best of you and I only know a few men who have, one being Jack."

"Shut up," Ryoko snapped playfully.

"You know, it seems as though Jack is your rival as well as your husband," Heather observed. "You two are too alike."

"Are we?" Ryoko asked and the girls nodded.

"Ryoko," Diana said. "You are the only girl I know who would do some of the things you do. You aren't afraid of what others will think and I don't know anyone, with the possible exception of transvestites, that is as comfortable in men's clothing as you, nor any who wear it as well."

"And from what I can see," Kristin added. "You'll kill to preserve yourself as well as anyone under your protection. Jack told everyone about what happened in the cave. You risked your life with an unloaded gun by slicing open your arm and for what? To save a bunch of pirates and girls you didn't even really know?"

Ryoko didn't answer. She was flattered by their images of her and didn't think herself much worth such praise. She had just done what she though was right, or what would get the job at hand done. She had no idea it would speak to them so.

"And she can talk like him as well," Heather pointed out rather absently. Everyone laughed and quieted as they heard footsteps on the stairs. Dobereiner saw them and smiled.

"The Cap'n needs everyone on the main deck 'bout now."

"Thank you, sir," Ryoko told him.

"Ah, tis nothin' Mrs. Sparrow," he answered and disappeared above the deck.

The girls and Eric followed him up from the deck, the monkey perched on Diana's shoulder. They emerged among most of the crew. Ryoko was left to thread her way through to a spot where she was likely to be able to see better, being the shortest adult on board, minus Marty of course. Eric followed her, grabbing her hand and clinging to her, slightly intimidated by all the big seamen around.

She caught sight of Jack, high upon the railing above the door to the captain's quarters, waiting for the crew to quite down. His manner commanded their attention and it was hard to think of this man ever becoming victim to the gibbet.

Finally, the crew reached a conclusion in their noise making and stood quiet, ready to receive news from the captain.

"Good day to you, ladies and gentlemen, or ungentlemen if you like." He grinned, his golden teeth flashing. "We're but a few hours from Tortuga." The crew and passengers cheered loudly.

"I'll ask half of you to stay aboard the first three days," he told them. "I'll not want me ship being stolen. The next four days, you'll switch. Captain, Quartermaster, Boatswain, Surgeon, Gunner, and passengers are exempt from this. I trust you to divide the watches amongst yourselves. You don't have to go your watch out all at once but I expect you to switch with another if you're to go a town, understand?"

"Aye!" the crew exclaimed.

"Well, then," he concluded. "Back to work for now. When night falls, we'll be in Tortuga."

The crew returned to their business, leaving Ryoko and Eric near the stairs to the top deck, along with the other girls near the opening to below decks. Jack saw her and before she could run, he'd vaulted over the railing and landed beside her. Eric made sounds of admiration and Ryoko had to grab him before he went to try it himself.

"You are definitely a bad influence on this boy," she told Jack.

"On you as well, it seems," he teased, hooking her around the waist and pulling her up against him.

"Um ..." she squeaked uncertainly but he persisted, whispering in her ear.

"We've an audience, luv," he reminded her. She relaxed, knowing that it would seem strange to her friends if she were to resist too much. He didn't give them much of a show to her relief, only kissing her forehead and smiling. He released her and she turned to walk to her friends, attempting to keep her face calm. He grabbed her arm again and spun her around.

"You've cut your hair," he pointed out, frowning. "Why?"

She shrugged. "The ends were ruined. They needed to be cut or they'd keep breaking off."

He shook his head. "Never stopped me."

She laughed aloud. "I can see that." She walked back to her friends and their comments and they disappeared below.

Jack grinned at her retreating form and shook his head.

…

Barbossa and Belle were in Mei Lin's room arguing. Mei Lin and Dante sat in the corner listening to their voices.

"I think we should leave him in Tortuga when we get there," Barbossa suggested. "He's only getting in the way as it is."

"You can't do that to the man who brought you back not once, but twice!" Belle exclaimed. "He isn't hindering you that much."

"He's given grog and all manner of other things to the sailors and he let them get at the chest!" Barbossa exclaimed. "Half the crew is cursed, our stores are ruined thanks to all the drunken sailors about devouring it and it's his entire fault!"

"Barton meant well," she told him. "But when you think about it, it's a good thing some of our crew is cursed. They cannot die and don't need to eat, therefore that's stress we don't have to waste on them."

"True," he answered. "A tad true, it seems, but I still don't want him here."

Belle sighed and shook her red locks from her face. "You can't just leave him there."

"Why not?" Barbossa growled. "It's not like I'll be leavin' him to die. He can hunt in the streets for no one cares if a body goes missin' in Tortuga. On a ship, that's hard to conceal and the two of us are takin' as much already. He's exhausted the store of rats and started in on the Chinks."

"I'll kindly ask you to watch you manners, good man," Dante said from the corner. "And I have an idea for your purposes."

Barbossa grunted to show he was listening.

"I believe Jack and Scarlette Sparrow are in Tortuga for one simple reason. They haven't been there yet on this chase you've given."

"What's yer point, Smith?" Barbossa snapped.

"Allow me to take Mei Lin, Barton, and Belle if she wishes, and catch them," Dante suggested. "It is not a foolproof plan but with a vampire or two, a Chinese martial master, and me, I believe we can work something out."

Barbossa considered it. "What's in it fer me?"

Dante smiled. "I knew you'd ask that. Jack and Scarlette will be caught and killed of course. The bounty hunter will flourish with her prize, and you will be the only demon on board this ship. Mei Lin also wants to see those two dead."

"What if the plan fails?" Barbossa asked.

"I always have a backup," Dante told him, taking out the paper Mei Lin had found. He unrolled it and handed it to Barbossa. The sea captain read the paper, holding it at arms length and still squinting. After a few minutes, he grinned evilly and tossed the paper back to Dante.

"You are a genius after me own mind, Smith. I'll go with yer plan and I'll be on me way back to take care of the loose ends. I didn't want it to come to this, but I suppose it'll have to. Send a letter to New Orleans with the results of yer conquest."

Dante smiled and nodded. Mei Lin looked lost and Belle was smiling. She had read and grasped the plan as well.

The only one in the room who didn't know what was going on was Mei Lin and she certainly wouldn't have stood for it if she did. Or perhaps her hatred for Jack had made even her own mind that twisted.

…

Robin had not freed her hand and had almost given up for her wrists had swollen badly due to the constant friction on them. She heard footsteps outside her door and hung her head in feint unconsciousness again. The door opened and she saw Tavington's boots, his silver spurs clicking with each step. He brought her head up and she slowly opened her eyes.

What she saw horrified her. He held up a long shiny silver blade and the look on his face let her know he wasn't afraid to use it on her. He pulled out her gag.

"Are you going to tell me where they've gone or am I going to have to persuade you?" Robin weighed the consequences in her head. This guy was a lunatic and she tried to imagine him up against Jack. Tavington was larger than Jack was physically and more insane when it came to fighting. She didn't want to chance them together because if Jack died, Ryoko would probably kick it as well.

She sized up Tavington and imagined her friend going at it with him as well. Would Ryoko stand a chance to this man? Ryoko was fast, this she knew, but as strong a woman as she was, men generally had her on the upper body strength. Robin swallowed and made her decision.

"My answer will not change," she told him bravely.

"So be it," he grinned. He laid the cold blade against her upper arm and she shut her eyes, preparing herself for the pain when a loud knocking sound interrupted them.

"Tavington! Open the door!" Norrington's voice was very clearly heard throughout the wooden house. "I'm here to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Miss Skiles."

"Where have I heard that before?" Robin asked herself aloud while Tavington went to answer the door.

"Are you alone and unarmed?" Tavington asked, leaning against the closed door, the rough wood coarse beneath his hands.

"You may search me, for I am alone," Norrington answered from outside.

"It's a pity that wound didn't kill you," Tavington commented, opening the door.

"Where is Robin?" the commodore asked, at once hostile.

"She's fine," Tavington told him. "Aren't you, girl?"

"As long as you stay in that room I'll be fine," she snapped. Norrington seemed to be relieved.

"Well, name your terms, Mr. Tavington," Norrington told him.

"I want the location of the Sparrows," he snapped immediately.

"Why would you want that?" Norrington asked.

"Because, my dear stupid Commodore, I am going to kill them!"

"Will you let her go if I tell you?"

"No!" Robin shouted. "Don't tell him that!"

"I must," Norrington answered her frailly. "Anything to get her out, do you understand?" the last was said to Tavington.

The man nodded. "I will leave this house with you two in it. It is up to you to get her out."

"Your word?" Norrington asked.

"Of course," they shook on it and Norrington took a deep breath.

"The Sparrows are in Tortuga," he told him. "If you succeed in killing them—"

"You're gonna get a shit load of money," Robin snapped from the other room. "I hope you're satisfied."

Tavington nodded. "I am indeed. Well, then Commodore. The best of luck to you. I leave you here to free her." He picked up a small traveling bag, pre-packed, and left the little wooden house.

Norrington groaned and moved to the other room. Robin sat there, still tied to the chair with a scowl on her face.

"Robin, you are well I hope?" he asked.

"I'll be fine once you get me out of here," she told him. "There are knives somewhere in this place. I heard him sharpening them earlier."

Norrington found them without difficulty. There were several different kinds and he paused a moment to look them over.

Robin screamed his name and he hurried over to her room.

"He's set the house on fire!" she exclaimed. The smoke was coming from the front room. Norrington sliced through the ropes binding her and she burst from the chair, falling on the floor. Her ankles had been tied too tightly for too long and she couldn't walk yet. Norrington pulled her to her feet and lifted her up, groaning as his wound split open again. He stumbled to the front room, seeing the door ablaze, the flames licking scorching paths over the wooden frame.

She pointed and he followed her gesture. There was a window. He moved as quickly as his wound and her weight would permit and set her down. There wasn't much in the room besides and old desk and chair, a small bed and an empty closet. He grasped the chair and let it fly. The window exploded, shards of glass raining down on the mud outside, sticking treacherously out of the mire like glittering crooked teeth.

Norrington lifted Robin up again and carefully helped her over the jagged sill. She gasped as her shoes sunk into the mud outside the window, the glass cutting into the fabric. She held onto the wall, which was growing hotter by the second as Norrington hoisted himself out. He stepped lightly and whistled. His horse came running from around the corner and he helped Robin to sit sidesaddle, pulling himself up behind her. He spurred the horse and it leapt over the muddy streets to the Governor's house.

Meanwhile, Tavington was meeting his good friend Captain Arod (the very same) and scheduling a voyage to Tortuga.

…

The gangplank was being lowered to the dock and Ryoko was excited. She'd never been to Tortuga and was looking forward to it. She, at Jack's request, had changed into the purple dress that Elizabeth had worn and to her glee realized it did fit her. Elizabeth may have been skinnier than she, but after a good part of the last month spent at sea, Ryoko was thin enough. She, however, kept her boots instead of the little shoes in the closet. One, they were too big, as most things were, and two, they hurt her feet.

The plank hit the dock with an audible noise and Jack, being first to disembark, offered his arm. She took it and allowed him to lead her down the wooden plank. Following them were the two Oregon girls. Diana had decided to stay on the ship, giving reason that she felt sick. Anamaria, Gibbs, Nathaniel, Stevenson, and Armstrong followed them, as well as a number of other sailors, bent on visiting family in the town.

Jack was pointing things out to Ryoko and explaining their purpose and telling stories while she laughed at the drunken men blundering about, hanging on his arm like a trophy wife, her golden hair brilliant over her shoulders, the cloth of her dress playing its lighting trick and appearing a deep red in the firelight.

Jack stopped cold, spotting something she couldn't see. "Oh, no."

She looked at him quizzically but her answer came soon enough. Five women in ravishingly beautiful dresses were watching them, one of their number walking up to them.

"'Allo, Jack," she said to him, a scowl on her face.

"Hello Gisele," he smiled warily, the corner of his mouth moving only.

Ryoko let go of Jack's arm and smirked. He looked at her in alarm but she shook her head. He was on his own until the wolves turned on her.

The women crowded around him and he looked much the same as when the pirates of Barbossa's crew had pointed their weapons at him before he'd jumped after Elizabeth and his pistol.

"I missed you, Jack," a darker woman purred in his ear. She was a beautiful woman from Africa, her hair short and her skin gleaming in the firelight. She blinked gorgeous black eyes at him.

"Oi missed ya most o' course," Gisele told him, pulling him away from the other women. The tall redhead growled.

"He's mine, Gisele."

"No way Scarlet! Oi've known 'um longa than any o' you!"

"I'll bet any of you that he prefers me," said the darker one.

"What gives you that idea, Cassandra?" a smaller one with dark brown hair asked. "Maybe he prefers smaller women, like me."

"Dream on, Ellie," the last one, a pale girl with long blonde hair so pale it seemed white. "Everyone knows Jack like me, Phyllidia, the best."

Jack had slowly and sneakily stepped away from them when Cassandra pointed to him. "Let's have him choose."

"Oh, dear," he yelped, running to stand behind Ryoko, his hands on her shoulders, ducking behind her.

"It serves you right," she told him. "Don't hide behind me."

"I've a right to," he told her. "They don't realize who you are."

"This is a really bad idea," she told him. The five women were standing before her frowning.

"Hi there," she greeted nervously. "I'm Scarlette."

"So am I," the other one snapped. She was very tall and Ryoko noticed with a slight annoyance that she was again the shortest.

"What do you want?" she asked them. Phyllidia answered this time.

"Jack needs to stop hiding behind you and come out. He's supposed to pick one of us."

Ryoko looked back at Jack. "You're lucky tonight. Get ready to run if this heats up too badly, but don't leave me. If you leave me here and run for it, I swear I'll kill you." He gulped and nodded, standing up straight. Ryoko faced forward.

"Back off, chickies," she told them. "I'd say Jack Sparrow's already chosen."

"And I suppose you think you're the one, right?" Ellie asked her.

"Damn straight," Ryoko told her. "Who is he hiding behind, eh? And if you've a problem, take it up with me, you hag!"

The women gasped and Jack mentally laughed. Ellie came up to Ryoko and the rest backed up, Jack backing against the wall and keeping an eye out.

Ellie pushed Ryoko a little and the future girl started laughing.

"Are you going to try and fight me for him?" she asked. "Obviously my reputation does not precede me." She shoved Ellie back and the Tortuga woman realized her mistake. This new girl was strong.

She stumbled and finally fell on her ass, the voluminous dress miring her. Cassandra and Gisele helped her up, dusting her off.

"I don't know who you think you are but we're not going to let you keep Jack all to yourself," Cassandra growled, her voice very deep with hint of some language Ryoko didn't know. Of all of them, this one seemed the most dangerous.

"Be my guest, if you think you can take him from me," she told her. Cassandra and Scarlet, the two biggest women moved forward. Gisele and Phyllidia moved up behind them to wait in reserve.

Cassandra and Scarlet reached for her at the same moment but were surprised greatly when Ryoko moved forward, allowing them to hold her arms. She twisted her arms and grabbed each of them instead. Using the momentum of her own movement, she spread her legs out and pulled the girls with her. They were drawn backwards and tripped over her legs, their height a disadvantage for once. Scarlet fell first, Cassandra landing on the redhead's face and upper body.

Jack shook his head and smiled. The last three girls lunged at her and Ryoko laughed aloud again. She kicked one in the stomach, pulled another down by her hair and at the last she merely looked. Phyllidia, having not jumped into the fray stood alone.

"Who are you?" she asked Ryoko, and with all Jack's confidence as he had told the pirates in the cave after Elizabeth's blood failed, she told her.

"I'm Mrs. Jack Sparrow."

Phyllidia gulped and fainted on the spot, landing next to her comrades, her platinum blonde hair pooling in a liquid fire puddle. Jack swaggered from the wall, laughing to himself, his face a great big grin. "Well done," he laughed draping an arm around her shoulders. "I couldn't have done better myself."

She shrugged his arm off her shoulders and sniffed. "Don't get used to it, babe. Once I'm done with this masquerade, you're on your own."

Jack smiled and pulled her close, using her waist instead. "Some masks become so natural, they never change."

She fixed a dark gaze on him and he finally let her go, taking her hand instead and walking away, pulling her along.

He led her into The Faithful Bride where many of their crew was waiting. After some surveying of the crowd, he sat at a table, she sitting next to him, and he ordered rum of course. She ordered water and was laughed at by the man.

"We ain't got no water here, miss," he told her. She frowned and Jack took over, ordering the same for her.

"You don't have to drink it," he told her.

"Then why order it?"

"I'll drink it."

"Mr. Sparrow, sir?" cried a small man.

"Aye, that be me," Jack answered, raising an arm. The man sped to him and handed him a few worn envelopes.

"These've been here the last two days and I was told to hold 'em for you." Jack handed the man a piece of eight and he bowed, running off.

"I wonder," Jack said, handing one of the envelopes to Ryoko. It was addressed to Scarlette Sparrow. She opened it and found it was a letter from Robin. She read the first line and groaned.

"I'm going to kill her."

"Why?"

"This is why."

_Dear Ryoko, excuse me, Scarlette Sparrow_

_I hope you're having fun out on the big ocean with none other than Jack Sparrow, you lucky woman. I wish I were in your place and so does Claudia. She ended up going to the Swann's ball with Gillette. He he he. Of course, I shouldn't be talking because I had to go with Norrington (gag). Everything is good here. Lizzy found a guy exactly like DJ and she's not as sad anymore. Your brother is being a little punk but making swords for Will and guess what; you and Jack are welcome back in Port Royal! Norrington issued a notice just the other day saying as long as you are in Port Royal, the bounty hunters cannot collect their bounty on you, unless of course you're brought in dead. He also said if you committed any other crimes while there, he'd remove the protection._

_We miss you a lot even though we hate your guts for being there with Jack. Just kidding of course. We know you're not really married to him. _

_Lots of Love,_

_Robin Skiles, Elizabeth Talbott, and Claudia Gonzales_

"Cool!" Ryoko exclaimed. "We're allowed back in Port Royal!" She glanced at Jack warily. "You're not going to make me continue this act are you?"

He grinned. "I am."

"Why?"

"I already told you! Your friends, especially the one with the glasses, are not airtight. They'll leak our secret abroad faster than an uncaulked ship. No, it's safer this way."

"It seems to me," she told him. "That everyone who's tried to attack me so far has done so to get at you. I think your name is doing more damage than it's helping. And what is the big secret? No one really cares except whores and they certainly aren't trying to kill you … at least not for the most part."

He smiled at her. "I know you have a point, but you haven't run into the dangerous sort yet."

"Like Barbossa and his cronies aren't dangerous!" she exclaimed. "Forget it! I'm telling my friends the truth. I'll not be having them mad at me because of you and your useless mind games."

Jack's eyes grew wide but at that moment, a man stormed in a fright and collapsed in his hurry to get inside. He picked himself up and stumbled over to the bar.

"The bandits have returned," he told the man.

"Lucky for us," he said uncaringly. "That our exterminator is here as well. Oy, Sparrow. You need to go and clean out Unorna's men again."

"Hey," Jack exclaimed. "I don't work here. Clean your own bandits out."

"I'll pay you," the man told him. Jack froze.

"How much?"

"Four escudos," the man told him. Jack scoffed.

"For the job I'm takin' on you've got to have more to offer than half a doubloon."

"Fine, I'll give you a doubloon!"

"No," Jack told him, taking a long drink from his mug and slamming it down on the crude wooden table.

"Come on! That's eight escudos! Sixteen pieces of eight! One hundred and twenty eight reales!"

"You're not persuading me, man," Jack muttered. "I want ten doubloons and not a farthing less."

"All right, so it'll take my whole life savings," the man shouted. "But the bandits'll take that anyway if they aren't stopped. Done."

Jack stood and put some coins on the table. Ryoko stood to follow but he turned and waved her down.

"You stay here. Find Gibbs and have him take you to the ship."

"I'm not staying," she told him angrily. "We haven't finished our argument."

"There isn't one," he told her. "You can come but I doubt you'll be able to catch up with me." He smirked at her. "I have a feeling you would say we weren't finished with the argument until you had what you wanted anyway." She stood immediately and followed him as he weaved through the tables. He darted out the door and she followed, immediately lost.

Jack must have expected her to give up when she couldn't find him but Ryoko was as stubborn as he was and she returned inside to grab the man who had called.

"Show me where they've gone," she commanded.

"Listen, lass," he said with a thick Scottish accent. "I'm not goin' anywhere near them bandits, understand. I came 'ere ta get away from 'em and lost all me money in the bargain."

"You'll take me there or I'll kill you myself," she threatened.

"No offense, lady, but yer the size of a lit'l un."

"Come on! You're not gonna help me because I'm short?"

"No, unless ye can persuade me some other way." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"I've just thought of something," she snapped. "If you don't, I'll tell my husband what you just said." She didn't mind switching sides on her own argument to threaten.

"Who's that?" the man asked, unimpressed.

"Jack Sparrow."

"Ah, this way, then. O' course I'll tek ya to the bandits."

"Thank you."

…

Jack was running on the roofs of the buildings and hadn't heard the exchange. He knew exactly where the bandits were going and didn't want to risk Ryoko. These were the sort of people he had been talking about in the pub. They did not hesitate for anything and a girl like Ryoko would run high to their liking, unless a name such as Sparrow followed her own. In fact, not many other names would do to keep her safe from them. He was glad he'd left her behind in her stubborn fit.

He jumped into the loft of an old abandoned barn, thinking briefly about tarantulas and shivering. He tumbled into the hay, falling all about, dreading the spindly legs any second when he hit the ladder. He shimmied down it and ran on, entering their midst almost as soon as he left the old barn. They were dressed almost as outrageously as he was, with beads and such hanging from their hair and ears, one man with a golden rod pushed through his nose.

Everyone froze when they saw Jack standing there. He grinned and bowed to their leader who smiled at him in recognition.

"Jack Sparrow," the man said. "Come to eradicate us again, I suppose. How much are they payin' you this time?"

"Ten doubloons," he answered, smirking.

"Ah, your wages have gone up since last we met," he assessed. "Well, we'd better get going boys. Our treaty with _Captain _Jack Sparrow stands until Unorna dies. Let's go." The leader grabbed his black horse and threw himself up, riding off, his men following. They all had wild black hair and exotic eyes running from a Caribbean blue green to a pale violet.

"Well, that much is done," Jack said to himself. He walked back to the Faithful Bride and sat down. He saw Gibbs there and was confused for a moment. Ryoko was gone and Gibbs wasn't. There hadn't been enough time for her to be returned to the ship.

He came up to Gibbs who was laughing and joking with the men at the table and tapped him.

"Oh, hi there Jack. Hey men, here be Captain Jack Sparrow!" the men grinned and applauded and Jack gave a little nod before talking to the partially inebriated Gibbs.

"Have you seen Scarlette?" he asked.

"Oh her? Yeah," Gibbs told him. "She grabbed that pale man that come in here screamin' about bandits or sommat or other. Took 'im out and disappeared fer all I know. I thought you had her."

Jack frowned and sort of tossed his head aside, hitting the table with his hand a little too hard. The men inside the pub all stared at him, not wanting to move for fear of spooking the unpredictable captain. He looked around, moving only his eyes and smiled hesitantly. The men took their drinks back up and resumed their raucous conversations.

He strode outside and looked around him. There was nothing to see and the noise of the pub prohibited his hearing. He walked quickly and obviously agitated out towards where the bandits had been last but before he got there, he heard a shout, too high to be a man but not quite a scream.

"Put me down!"

"That's her for sure," he muttered, running again.

…

Ryoko and Colin, for that was the Scott's name, ran toward the square where the attack was taking place. A few minutes before they got there, Jack had cleared them out and what they had run into was the tail end of the bandit party.

"Hey, Makeo!" one of the men called. "Over here! Come quick." The leader of the bandits rode to where the man was pointing. Ryoko stood there with a shivering Colin by her side. She was not afraid but Colin had just wet himself.

Makeo jumped from his horse and strode over to her. He was handsome, with exotic looking dark skin and bright green eyes, golden hoops through his earlobes and many a ring on his fingers. He wore a turquoise vest over brown breeches and black boots freshly stolen from one of the houses.

"Hey, girl," he said to her. "You shouldn't be here, you know. We're bandits." He reached out to touch a strand of her golden hair and Colin fainted. The men behind Makeo laughed and pointed at the wet spot on his pants.

"What a baby," she muttered, looking down at Colin. "To think some men are just that weak is pathetic."

"You can be assured that I am not that weak, not weak at all," Makeo told her. "Come give me a tumble, darlin'."

Ryoko looked at him, her own green eyes flashing. "I don't think so."

"I don't care what you think, honey," he told her, throwing her over his shoulder. She yelped and beat upon him with her fists but for all her strength, he didn't release her. She didn't panic until he threw her over the front of his barebacked horse and began to ride off.

"Put me down!" she yelled, but the horse did not stop and soon the lights of the town faded away in the darkness. She managed to throw herself clean from the horse, skidding along in the dirt and shrubbery beyond the light of town. The man who had swiped her dismounted and called along to his men that he would be along shortly. He came after her, stepping lightly in the solid night.

She crouched below a shrub, holding her breath and grabbing a fistful of sand. Her heart pounded stridently in her ears but she knew from experience that he could not hear it. He walked very close to her and stopped, his foot kicking up a bit of dust. She shut her eyes against it and slowly let her breath out, drawing another one. Apparently, that was enough because he laughed and lunged at her. She spun away quickly, tossing the sand in his direction. She missed his eyes, but he spat and hissed, having caught a mouthful.

She ran and in one leap, bounced onto the horse' back. With a short kick to the side, the horse took off. Makeo was left standing in the bush. He smiled and whistled. The horse abruptly changed direction and headed back to its master. Makeo swung onto the horse right behind Ryoko and slowed the animal, all while fighting her. He then tied her hands behind her and shook his finger in her face.

"No more trying to get away, now, girl," he told her.

"My name isn't girl," she growled.

"Well, what is it?"

"Ryoko."

"Well, Miss Ryoko, pleased to meet you. Off we go." He kicked the horse and they trotted along.

…

Jack ran until he had to stop or fall from exhaustion. He'd passed the outskirts a while ago and the darkness around him was oppressive, Jack expecting any manner of creature to come out at every second. He'd already stepped on a snake and tripped over some four-legged animal.

"Blasted woman," he muttered. "I told her to stay put but did she listen to ol' Jack? No! Of course not! Women always know what's best for 'em it seems. I should've left her with Gibbs to be sure."

"I would halt there if I were you, man," a deep voice told him. Jack couldn't see anything and blissfully sank into unconsciousness when the man hit him over the head. He picked up the fallen pirate and carried him off to the bandit's lair. He wasn't the first man to venture out that far.

…

"Let go of me, you psycho," Ryoko exclaimed, pushing away from Makeo.

He only laughed and dragged her into the brightly lit cave. There were piles of plundered articles, making the place almost as brilliant as Isla de Muerta. Ryoko was brought before an old woman who sat upon a purple cloth, an old bandana tied around her head, beads and feathers decorating her hair. Her face was a tanned cocoa brown and framed by her graying dreadlocks. She had large black eyes and smooth hands.

"Unorna," Makeo began. "May I have this one? She was all alone and was quite defiant."

"Maybe," the old woman told him. "Who is she?"

Makeo shrugged and Ryoko piped up. "My name is Scarlette." He gave her a dirty look.

"She told me her name was Ryoko."

"Which is it?" Unorna asked her.

"Pick one!" Ryoko answered. "I don't care. They both work."

"Is that all?' Unorna asked, looking down at her rather haughtily.

"Yes," Ryoko hissed, jerking away from Makeo and stepping on his foot. He jumped and grabbed the back of her neck, folding her over his leg and putting her on the ground rather forcefully.

"That's a mighty pretty bauble you've got 'round your neck," a man's voice pointed out. He came around the corner and Ryoko felt like she'd seen him somewhere before. He was an older man and his hair was dark brown, longer than shoulder length and streaked with grey, tied back tightly, obviously not one of the bandits.

He walked up to her and pulled the emerald into clear view. "Where did you get this?"

"None of your business," she snapped, keeping the emerald from his grasp, lashing out with her teeth even as Makeo held her hands. "I'm not giving it up. It was a gift."

"I've seen it before," the man told her. "On an older neck than yours, cheeky lass. Unorna, I wouldn't let Makeo have this one just yet."

"And why not?" she asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," the man told her. "I'll not say anything for fear of being wrong. Wouldn't want to get anyone's hopes up."

"Makeo," the woman addressed the man. "Go ahead and entertain Scarlette for awhile. When Bill here decides its safe, I'll let you have her."

"Aye, ma'am," Makeo nodded, gripping Ryoko's wrists. He dragged her off down a dark hallway crudely carved out of the stone and into a room where he closed a door and locked it.

Ryoko broke away from him and ran about in the dark room, not sure where she was going. All she knew is that she needed to find a weapon and quickly. Before she could find anything, strong arms closed about her waist and threw her down. She hit the ground hard and before she could get up, he was on her, pinning her down with his weight, his long hair falling over her shoulders.

"Let me go, asshole!" she shouted, attempting to get away from him. "I'll kill you like I killed those pirates!"

"Kill me will you?" he asked. "All I have to do is chase you around this room until Unorna decides your fate. There are no weapons in this room and you can't see. I could do just about anything I wanted to you, including this." He found her mouth and kissed her. She froze for an instant, trying to think past his mouth and her anger took over. She pushed at him and actually succeeded in lifting him off her partially. He was amazed at her strength.

"Get off now," she commanded, and to her surprise, he did.

"So you've killed pirates, eh?" he asked from somewhere to her right in the impenetrable darkness. "How'd ya do it?"

"I shot six, stabbed one, and the last, I broke his neck for the same reason I should kill you," she snapped. "No one comes on to me like that without a price and if I can find you, I'll give you a piece of my mind."

"There's a reason I'm leader of the riding bandits, hon," he told her. "Surely a girl like you is frightened of me just a little."

"Nope," she told him. "I'm sort of attached to a guy like you. He swears the world is terrified of his name."

"No one I know has a name that powerful, save for two," he answered in the dark. "One is Christ, but if you're 'attached' to him I'll be burnin' in hell fer what I just pulled. The other, I wouldn't see as a marryin' man, though I suppose it's possible."

"I didn't say I was married," she growled.

"Oh? Then what did you mean by attached?"

"I … I'm not really sure."

"Ah."

"Makeo!" a voice rang out in the hall. "You better bring that girl back. She's already spoken for. It seems Bill was right about her."

"Dammit!" Makeo cried. "Fine, missy. I guess our time together is over." He pinched her bottom as she stood.

"Good thing, too," she snapped as he dragged her roughly from the room. "Any longer and I would have strangled you."

They entered Unorna's room again and ran into Jack.

…

He had woken in the hall of Unorna, staring at a face he'd never thought he'd see again. He sat up quickly to make sure he wasn't dreaming and caught sight of Unorna. He swayed shortly and stood, looking around.

Bill stood beside him and Jack looked the man over. "So this is where you've been. I thought … _he_ had gotten you early. It's been … ten years."

"Aye, that it has," Bill answered, grasping Jack's hand and ignoring the rather odd assumption. Jack looked up at Unorna.

"I take it you know why I'm here," Jack told her, swaying in the brightly lit room, his gaudy accessories clinking audibly.

"That I do," she answered. "Is the spell on your door still working?"

Jack nodded. "All but for me and one other person for some reason. I'm not sure how she's doing it but the door opens for her."

"You should know why, Jack," Unorna told him. "Did Libussa not tell you?"

"Who?" Jack asked.

Unorna smiled. "One of my two sisters. We received a prophecy about you and she set out to find you. Libussa, the Oracle of Tortuga. And you know my other sister as well …."

Jack shivered visibly, remembering his encounters with Unorna's unnamed sister. He brought the subject back to Libussa.

"Oh, her," Jack muttered. "I met the old broad, and she had a convulsion and died in the bar."

"No," Unorna answered. "She is very much alive, stuck in prison at the moment. She's what some newfangled doctor calls narcoleptic. Has false deaths all the time."

"Ah," Jack sighed. "Well, where is Scarlette?"

Unorna nodded and one of the bandits left, returning a moment later with Makeo dragging Scarlette.

"Jack!" she cried, throwing Makeo off and running to him, glad to see him for once.

"No way," Makeo exclaimed. "Is that who you were talking about?"

"Perhaps," she told him coyly and Makeo knelt.

"Please don't kill me sir," he told Jack. "I didn't know. I'll do anything."

"What's he talking about?" Jack asked her.

"Nothing," she answered. "Unless he wants to annoy me, that is."

"Not me, not for a thousand crowns." Makeo was still kowtowing, though in a less than serious tone.

"Well, then," Jack said. "I'll not make the journey back to the ship under darkness. Have you a room for us, my friend Unorna? By the way, this is the gypsy woman who bewitched my door and this, well, say hello to none other than Bootstrap Bill Turner and you've obviously met Makeo. Lady and gentlemen, meet Scarlette Sparrow."

"Obliged," Bootstrap Bill said, taking her hand.

"You do look like Will!" she exclaimed. "That's why you seemed familiar."

"And you were exactly who I thought you were," he told her, pointing to the emerald. "I knew Elise before that rapscallion at your back was born and she used to wear that all the time."

"I'm so glad to know you let Makeo take off with her even though you knew," Jack joked. Bootstrap Bill shrugged.

Unorna piped up. "If she had told us, I would not have allowed Makeo to go off with her."

"I told you!" Jack eyed Ryoko smugly and smiled in a most irritating way. "I was right, was I not? Are you still second guessing my judgment?"

"Shut up, Jack," Ryoko told him, laughing as well. "You win, _this _time."

"Ah ha!" he laughed, swinging her around the cave. "Of course I win! I always win, luv. You should know that by now."

"Oh, please forgive me," she said sarcastically, placing a hand over her heart, her other hand clasped in his grip. "I doubted the great Jack Sparrow!"

"_Captain _Jack Sparrow, luv," he reminded her.

"How could I forget?" she asked, still sarcastic, allowing him to spin her into his arms. She smiled up at him a bit teasingly and he kissed her quickly. Even Bootstrap Bill was fooled, Ryoko having become a much better actor in the last few days.

She was stabbing her own heart however. She still felt angry about the situation, but that may have been perhaps because she was starting not to mind too much that her role commanded proximity.

"This calls for a celebration," Unorna announced. "Makeo; get everyone together."

"Aye, ma'am," he saluted and disappeared down one of the caves again.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side of Tortuga, Heather and Kristin were exploring on their own. Their strange clothing merited that they were left alone by the men of the town. They walked by a scene where several women, a few of them bruised, were arguing over something. They distinctly heard the word 'Sparrow' and decided to listen.

"I swear that's what she said!" Phyllidia exclaimed. "Mrs. Jack Sparrow! He's married! The papers were true. Oh, Cassandra! Do you know what this means?"

"It means its history for us," Cassandra muttered, waving a bedraggled fan over her face.

"And I always thought he loved me!" Gisele cried.

"You old bag," Ellie snapped. "If the redhead wasn't in the hospital with her nose broken right now I'd take you on."

"Meaning you can't face off without her, right?" Gisele laughed cruelly.

"That girl licked all of us," Cassandra pointed out. "I don't think you should be pretending that you're tough when all she did was pull your hair and you fainted." Gisele shut up and the future girls laughed amongst themselves. Obviously, Jack and Scarlette had a run in with Tortuga's finest and come out best.

The girls left the women and wandered around some more, laughing at certain things that had appeared in the movie or the ride. Plenty of men were chasing women and vice versa for several different reasons. There was a man being dunked over and over into a well, coming up sputtering and crying out while his wife called "Carlos! Don't tell 'em!" from her window above the street. Tortuga seemed to be all the down and dirty from all over the Caribbean, rolled right into one town. It smelled pretty badly in places but then so does everyone.

"Come on!" Kristin shouted. "Let's act out Jack, Will, and the two women!"

"I don't know," Heather said hesitantly. "I'm pretty sure that one of them was back there."

"Who cares!" Kristin cried. "Let's do it! I'm Jack!"

"I'm Will," Heather claimed. "And I guess I'll be the whores, too."

Kristin and Heather stepped back a few paces and began walking forward, talking amongst themselves.

"What do you think?" Kristin asked.

"It'll linger," Heather told her with a little disgusted snort.

"Let me tell you. If every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted. Scarlet!" Kristin went over and came back to Heather, who pretended to slap her.

"Not sure I deserved that," she commented. She turned around and said. "Gisele."

"Who was she?" Heather asked.

"What?" Kristin said. Heather slapped her again and jumped back behind Kristin.

"I may have deserved that," Kristin muttered. The two girls laughed again and smiled, waving as Anamaria walked by.

"Hello, ladies," she said. "Do you want to come with? I'm goin' to visit me father."

"Sure," they answered, following their Quartermaster.

…

The gypsy bandits were laughing and running about, a few of them playing a fiddle, violin, and another string instrument, the music coming from quite like an Irish jig. Ryoko was laughing and attempting to dance with Bootstrap Bill while Jack spoke with Unorna in the corner.

"I need to have a talk with your sister," he told her under his breath. She grinned and touched the tip of his nose with her finger. Her laugher shook her considerable bosom. Unorna was what was known as a 'big' woman. She wasn't fat, no, more solid. Her face was beautiful and would have not been so much so had she not had her extra weight. She fixed a glance on the dark pirate.

"Having second guesses, Jack?"

"No, not I," he answered. "I just need to know whether this whole heir thing is going right. You know, if I've got the right person or not."

"You have, you can be sure of that," Unorna told him. "For I remember her face from the prophecy. I know what your next question is and I'll leave it for you to answer yourself, Jack Sparrow. Is she the mother of your heir or merely the discoverer? That ring around her neck is the answer to that question. You'll understand what I mean soon enough." Unorna smiled mystically at Jack and he shook his head.

"Damn you and your mystics," he swore.

"You damn me," she smiled. "Was it not my third sister that told you that to survive, you would have to find a woman who could live with what you were and work well in the situation?"

"Tia Dalma is more cryptic than you are," he answered.

"We all see the visions, Jack," Unorna told him. "Scarlette is as close to your character as you will ever find, and notice that you would not have found her had your rivals not conspired. Perhaps part of her arsenal has not even been shown yet. There are enemies of yours that have yet to show themselves and when they do, you can be certain that she'll be there."

"As long as they aren't _old_ enemies."

She smiled at him. "Many of them will be men you have hated, not ones you will hate. Being your enemy seems to be a lifelong commitment."

"Here's hoping the same is true for being my friend." He groaned, thinking that this statement was already untrue. At least two of the men he considered to be his main enemies had at one point in his life been friendly. Jack was getting frustrated with Unorna's lack of actual information.

"How is your mother, Jack?"

"She's faring as well as she can, being bedridden and all that. Still conniving enough to send me out for strawberries while she drills Scarlette."

"So you two have been to see her recently?"

"Aye," he answered. "That's where she got the emerald."

"Hey, Jack!" Bootstrap called. "Get down here, man! Yer woman's about worn me out!"

"Oh, no," Ryoko cried. "You've done it all yourself."

Jack grinned at Unorna. "I'll be back to talk with one of you before I leave." He walked out to Ryoko and Bootstrap Bill. The music had stopped for a bit, the musicians resting their fingers.

"All right, what did you want?" he snapped jokingly at Bill.

"This one has too much energy," Bootstrap pointed at Ryoko. She raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"Don't I know it," Jack grinned. "She'd probably die at waltzes however. Scarlette's a perfect pirate's woman."

"Gee, thanks," she muttered sarcastically. "I haven't seen you out there yet, Mr. Sparrow." The strings began to twanging warm up and they burst into another song, dubbed by them as Tortuga Jig. He grinned and grasped her hands, pulling her out with him. The gypsy dancers all backed off to watch.

"Nice try, Sparrow," she growled in mirth. "I took an Irish dance course when my mother was alive. I can do this." and so they did. Jack had many different cards up his sleeve, using different techniques on her but she matched him move for move, the gypsy bandits cheering them on as they danced to the reeling strings. Unorna watched from her seat and smiled, watching Jack and Scarlette move around the clearing, both so quick and agile with their moves.

They sat down, breathing hard when the song ended, their faces flushed. The gypsies cheered loudly and Jack held out his hand. She took it, smiling. Bootstrap Bill sat down laughing beside them and slapped the table.

"Dammit, Jack," he laughed. "I'd say you actually have a rival in her."

"You don't know the half of it," she told him.

"So, how's me son?" Bill asked. "I meant to ask earlier but we kinda got distracted."

"He's fine, Bill. The curse has been lifted," Jack told him.

"So I've noticed," Bill muttered. "At the most inopportune moment, you can be assured. I was at your mother's house when she was still well and you know your mother's cooking? Ah, yes, fatal it be. Anyways, I told her I couldn't eat even if I wanted to and she forced it on me. Lo and behold, I chewed it up and swallowed, actually tasting for the first time in years. I of course threw it all back up on her table but who's to blame me?"

Jack laughed a short burst of sound. Elise Sparrow was a tough old woman to be forcing her casserole on Bootstrap Bill.

"Will's married now," Ryoko told Bill. "To a pretty woman named Elizabeth. She doesn't really like us in the house."

"Or even in the barn," Jack added. "Damn tarantulas." Ryoko started laughing and Jack gave her a stern look.

"You were running from that damn spider just as much as I was, luv," he pointed out. He looked to Bootstrap for support and yelped as Ryoko ran her hand up his arm like spiders' legs. She couldn't stop laughing after that, and Bootstrap was doing it as well.

"I do have a question for you," Jack fixed his dark eyes on Bootstrap. "How did you get away from that cannon, mate? I saw them strap you rather thoroughly. Were you attacked by a shark?"

Bootstrap looked at Jack then and an actual fear passed over his face. "Did you get _the Pearl _back?"

"I did," Jack answered. They looked at each other, both with some sort of knowledge beneath their eyes. Ryoko looked from one to the other.

"What is going on here?" she asked.

"Nothing," the two men went back to their drinks and stopped looking all foreboding. Ryoko frowned but let it go.

A tall woman with long, straight, black hair and eyes that were such a light brown they were almost golden came up wearing very nearly nothing, a red dress that began at her breasts and ended a few inches under her butt. She played lightly with Jack's shirtsleeve. He turned and his eyes grew very large.

"Ayeka," he muttered. "What—"

"Hush, Jack," she cooed. "Come dance with me, now. Like old times." She shot Ryoko a glance as she pulled Jack to his feet. He was completely mesmerized. Ryoko raised an eyebrow at the woman, with her bronze skin and gold jewelry. Jack, unlike with the Tortuga whores, was actually affected by her charms and she reeled him out onto the floor.

"Who is that," she asked Bootstrap as they moved about the floor.

"Oh, that's Ayeka, Makeo's older sister," Bootstrap answered. "Apparently she and Jack have a history. She's testing you, I think."

"The hell she is. I'm going to ignore her," Scarlette took a drink.

"Ignore her? Why ignore her?"

"Because that's how you deal with women! If you rise to the bait, it just makes them happy as all hell!" There was suddenly a cry from the floor. They looked and found a startlingly funny scene. Jack was on his butt on the floor looking up at Ayeka who had just thrown him down.

"Impossible. You wretch!" She whirled to the table and looked at Ryoko. She pointed a bright red fingernail in her direction. "You! I challenge you!"

Jack stood up immediately. "No! You can't challenge her! She's not a bandit."

"Hey!" Ryoko shouted. "What's this all about?"

"Are you his wife?" Ayeka shouted, enraged, her arm swinging to point at Jack, who had to duck because he was too close.

Ryoko frowned, not wanting to get into any more conflicts due to Jack's little pretense. "What if I am?"

"Then you will die!"

"Oh?" Ryoko took a step forward. "And you're the one who'll kill me?" A challenge like that was different, of course. This woman was out of control.

"Halt!" Unorna shouted from her place. "Any challenges will be fair and Scarlette must be dressed for the challenge."

"What?" Ryoko was dragged off yet again and Jack was not happy.

"This is not going to happen," he growled. "Ayeka, take back the challenge."

"No," the girl spat. "I want what's mine, and you, my dear, were mine long before she ever saw you."

Jack slapped a hand to his forehead. "Why me? Damn these territorial women."

Just then, the far door opened and Ryoko emerged in a similar outfit to Ayeka's, only hers was purple. Her golden hair was tied high on her head in a ponytail that cascaded her hair along her ears. She was barefooted and obviously uncomfortable.

"All right, how are we doing this?" she asked, feeling quite ridiculous.

A long black whip was tossed to her and Ayeka snapped her own on the ground.

"Wait, we're going to whip each other?" Ryoko asked incredulously, her voice cracking with the hilarity of the situation.

"First to strike blood three times is the winner," Ayeka shouted, standing with her feet apart. She cracked the whip again. "Any questions?"

"This is hardly fair," Ryoko sneered, cracking her whip wickedly. "I've never used one of these before. What are the rules?"

"Only the three blood mark is the rule, nothing else," Ayeka grinned.

"Well, in that case," Ryoko growled invitingly, gripping the leather. "En guarde, _babe_."

"This is bad," Jack groaned. He watched in horror as the two women circled each other. Ayeka was the first to attack and Jack saw a flash of hope as Ayeka swung to strike, Ryoko rolled towards her and wound her whip around one of Ayeka's ankles. Ryoko pulled hard and flopped Ayeka down on her back. There was a bloody gash where the whip had rubbed her ankle raw.

"First blood," Ryoko purred. Ayeka sat up and whipped hers out. Ryoko blocked it with her hand, protecting her face, but the leather left a dripping mark on the side of her left hand. The score was tied.

Ayeka flipped onto her feet and Ryoko was off rolling again. She sprung up to her feet and jumped to avoid the crack of Ayeka's whip. She cracked her own and interrupted the stroke of Ayeka, swinging in a counter attack at the girl's legs again. Ayeka moved just in time, cracking her whip as she did, opening the skin at Ryoko's shoulder.

Ryoko swung backwards and opened not only the cloth but the top skin of Ayeka's stomach. Tied again. Jack wanted to cover his eyes.

Ryoko smirked and ran at full tilt towards Ayeka. The taller woman smiled and went to strike, easy and over. This match was no challenge. Only, Ryoko was from the future and the fact that the only rule was that you had to bleed the other three times to win made this an entirely different match.

Ryoko threw her whip at Ayeka, hitting her in the boob, distracting her so her swing was less than powerful. The whip wrapped around Ryoko's forearm and the future girl grinned. She grabbed it and in one strong jerk, she disarmed her opponent. She crossed the last few steps to Ayeka who was trying to pick up the whip Ryoko had thrown and punched her in the jaw. Ayeka fell to the ground and spat out … blood.

"Third blood, mine," Ryoko spoke smugly. "I win."

"Thank God, I quit," Jack said, pushing away from the table. "I'm goin' home."

Ayeka glared at him and hissed like an angry cat.

He walked over to Ryoko, careful to step wide around the pissed bandit woman. "Good fight, luv."

Ayeka looked up at them, a trickle of blood dripping from her mouth. "Fine. You win. I renounce all claims to this man."

"What?" Ryoko growled. "That's what this fight was all about? You just wanted Jack?"

"Of course," Ayeka answered, standing up and once again towering over Ryoko. "He's exactly what any woman would want. Most of us are just not bold enough to act on it. Those silly 'proper' women … they could never do it. It would be the scandal of their towns."

Ryoko shook her head and left to change back into the Barbossa dress. She rejoined the table just as Jack was leaving.

"Bill, before I retire, I need to know something," Jack asked. "Were you the one who named the monkey?"

Bill burst out laughing again. "How did you know?"

Jack grinned. "It was beyond Barbossa to think of something so clever. I trust you'll join me when I leave. You could be first mate. Up until now, Anamaria's been taking on both that and Quartermaster."

"Don't you mean Quartermistress?" Bill asked. "And aren't women bad luck on board?"

"Only to you and Joshamee Gibbs," Jack told him. Ryoko stood and began to walk towards one of the openings. Jack waved to Bill and followed her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Bill turned around after they had gone and thought it over in his head. First mate on _The Black Pearl_. It had a nice ring to it, but what would be the price of fame?

…

In Port Royal, Elizabeth sat up again. The room was dark and Will was downstairs talking to Norrington about Robin. She had had another dream, this one bad. Barbossa was alive and he was converging on Jack along with many others. She recalled at least four men and two women, all set on killing Jack and she shivered. Deciding that it could wait until tomorrow, she laid down and went back to sleep.

In the room below, Robin cried. She had had the same dream.

…

Hi there again. You like! Please say you like! I'll just say one note. Irene Trimble is a dumb butt. She wrote the junior novelization for Pirates of the Caribbean and it SUCKS! Most of the lines are crooked beyond help, there are scenes missing, though she included the deleted ones, and she doesn't even know half the pirates' names! I want to shoot her! And, her book is only 122 pages long. What an amateur. She's like forty! I'm seventeen and you guys have seen what I can do, not that I'm bragging …. Okay, maybe I am just a little ….

Revisited gossip—Back to _the Hobbit _… something happened, and now I'm the Elven Queen as well. Yippee! I'm Legolas' Mommy!

Revisited 11-8-06


	13. Chapter XII : Conspiring Plots

Well, kids. Here it is. This chapter should be good, methinks. Of course, I'm just the author. An apology to Irene Trimble. Apparently, she was given a copy of the script before the movie came out and was told to write a book. That's why a lot of Jack's lines are not there. Johnny Depp got quite creative with the role, adding in a touch of Keith Richards, Pépé le Pieu and other eccentricities of his own.

**Chapter XII – Conspiring Plots**

There was no bed in the room. It was just a large round hole in the granite mountain, the floor worn relatively level by thousands of feet over the years of discovery. A door had been ingeniously installed by Bootstrap himself. The floor was draped and heaped with fabrics of all sorts and there was a smattering of gold and gems along with a miscellaneous assortment of other things. Ryoko whistled in appreciation.

"I lived here for a while," Jack told her, tossing his coat onto the floor, closer than she had expected. She jumped and found him staring at her with large dark eyes, lost in memory.

He picked up a bracelet with large ebony stones embedded in a tarnished brass band; decorated ornately with the favorable "golden rectangle" the Greeks were so fond of using. He hung it around his wrist but the clasp did not reach around.

"This is yours," he told her, handing it off. "I can't believe it is still here."

"I won't take anything," she told him.

"No," he said. "This was actually mine when I was younger. It doesn't fit me, but you, being so tiny, would be the perfect host to such an article. Here." He lifted her right arm and fastened the bracelet around her thin wrist. It hung a bit gaudily but when she compared it to her dress, it seemed quite fitting.

"My wrist is too large now," he muttered, raising his arm. She grabbed it, examining his scar and her eyes trailed higher, to the sparrow tattoo.

"When did you get this?" she asked, touching his skin where the bird flew before the sunrise.

"Here actually," he told her. "I was maybe eighteen. It was right before I'd gotten _the Pearl … _in its current state, anyway. I had come into town and there was a bandit attack." He sat down on what had appeared to be a bundle of material but was really a rock shrouded in silk. He moved over far enough to allow her to sit.

"Well, it wasn't that despicable Scott Colin but another man who came running into the tavern where I sat, shouting about bandits and black magic. He offered quite a reward and I was broke so I took him up on it. I ran to the quarter where they were combing the populace and attempted to get rid of them. Back then, Unorna used to ride at the head instead of Makeo. He is her son and I guess he's next in line, poor chap. He's only got to be about eighteen.

"Anyways, back to my story. Unorna caught sight of me dragging down one of her posse and she called all her gypsy boys down on me. I was carried off and set before her. After being kept here for about a month, we got to be friends. One day, she received message of someone looking for the bandits and she got a group of men together to go and exterminate the search party. I asked to go since it was sort of my home as well and she allowed me to go. Well, it turned out, Tortuga had sent out its best stock. We were cut off from the caves, though our hunters didn't know it. The leader of the group was stupidly killed by a snake he was attempting to subdue. He was a prideful man, always challenging the others, including me. I had told him several times that he was being a stupid fool but he didn't heed me, "the queen's pet" as I was dubbed.

"Well, sure enough, one of the men noticed the snake and challenged the group to cutting its head from its serpentine body. The leader went over, beheaded the thing, and picked up the head to show everyone. Some spirit or such avenged the snake and the head actually bit down on him. He died a few hours later."

"No spirit," she told him. "The nerves weren't dead yet. He must have squeezed it while he was showing it off, causing the spring-loaded jaws to bite. It happens in my time as well. Didn't you try to treat him?"

"I did," Jack answered. "I told him that it might be poison but he scoffed and wouldn't allow anyone to touch him. No snake, especially a dead one, would kill him but later on, he fell asleep. Since it was getting late and he had been drinking, we didn't question it. He never woke and in the morning, he was deathly pale, except for his arm, which had swelled to the size of a giant bratwurst and turned a nasty violet color. He had died in his sleep."

"Well, it's his own fault," Ryoko muttered.

"And then they made me their chief," he added as an afterthought. Ryoko expected a splash to follow this line and finally knew what he had been talking about with Murtogg and Mullroy, or at least, one of the instances where someone had made him their chief. "They thought that since I had been the only one to warn him that it'd be fitting to let me lead. I stopped the man's foolish wandering and had us do away with the hunters that night. Unorna rewarded me with the promise of one spell, which I enacted on my door. I was also tattooed as a mark of kinship. Each of them have one somewhere, in some shape that represents them."

"Charming," she teased. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Only after the first few punctures," he admitted. "After that, it's all sort of numb. Why, thinking of getting one yourself?"

"No," she answered absently. "I just wondered."

She closed her eyes and arched her back over the rock, stretching her hands towards the floor. She felt him grab her waist and roll her onto his lap. That got her sitting up fast.

"What are you—" she was about to ask, but she caught the look in his eyes. They weren't teasing at all. She remarked in her mind that he seemed more and more to be serious around her as opposed to his earlier teasing.

"Do you object?" he asked sincerely. She shook her head in confusion. He was being such a gentleman all of a sudden. He traced her nose with one finger, moving so he stopped where one of her dimples might appear if she smiled.

"You know, Jack," she whispered. "Barbossa was right. You're unpredictable. One minute you're teasing, the next you're all serious."

"Maybe this is just an opportune moment for sincerity," he whispered, drawing closer. He moved his hand to her face, moving through her shorter hair, his mouth close enough to touch, but not quite there.

Ryoko didn't push him away. She didn't really want to, though she didn't love him. He closed the distance and her mind blanked. '_It was nice to be kissed like that_,' she thought. Without realizing it, her hands were around his neck, not in strangulation either. He leaned slightly in her direction, his legs becoming staggered so that she was sitting on one leg, her right calf falling down between his, the left still up on the rock. She hung onto him and broke the embrace, attempting to fix her dress.

"Oh, leave it, luv," he told her, only slightly joking. "No one to see you but me."

She raised one eyebrow. "That's exactly my point."

He grinned recklessly. "I'm not sure I deserved that."

She laughed and slid from his lap to the floor, moving like a cat. She yelped in surprise when he followed her. She sat on her legs, the dress spreading around her and watched him circle her. He stopped ¾ to her right, just behind her shoulder. She looked back at him and he nudged her. She tumbled down and kicked off her boots, stretching her back gracefully.

"No corset, I take it," he pointed out to her limber movements.

"Surprisingly, no," she told him. She was propped up on one elbow and he was behind her again. She turned back to look at him and gasped as his arm went around her waist.

"Jack, I—" she couldn't say anymore because he kissed her, stealing whatever she was about to say, and she let him.

'_God, I'm not even drunk_,' she thought to herself. '_Oh, well. I guess this is the best a girl like me could ever hope for _….' But that was what she was at heart. A girl who still, somewhere deep in her heart, believed that she might be married respectably one day, or hoped at least. She didn't have much self-esteem in that area. She also believed she was young, but that was her time, not his and when his hand moved to her bodice and pulled at the strings, she moved to stop him.

His manner was condescending at best. "You are such a silly little woman," he laughed. "Still enclosed by your nonexistent ideals." His voice was so persuasive and his lips, again cutting her off, that she didn't protest. She was still spooned against his front, his hands wandering inside her bodice. He laughed shortly at her crude substitute for a brassiere but left it alone. Soon, the dress and his vest were gone, leaving her in her chiffon that was open at the front.

In a movement to swift for her to follow, she was pinned again, his body along her in one continuous line of warmth, his hands were inside the chiffon, molded against her back, his lips exploring her throat, leaving a trail of heat. He looked at her, not a teasing line on his face and moved his hips a bit, making her legs widen. She became painfully aware of a certain factor that woke her from her previous notions, his intent very clear.

"Jack, I don't think this is a good idea," she told him sternly, sitting up slightly, causing him to raise his upper body. This pressed certain parts of his anatomy up against her and she moved back to a more comfortable position.

To her surprise, he smirked. "You memory is faulty."

And to _his_ surprise, she told him quite calmly. "It isn't. That, I can contribute to the liquor. This, well, I have perfect control."

He grinned again and kissed her, leaning so that she had to lie down or be forced to do so. "That is debatable, luv." He pressed at her mouth until she opened her lips to reciprocate. His hands were under the chiffon, at her waist and he was massaging her lower abdomen, no futuristic garments to distract this time. He attempted to move upwards but his arms became tangled in the chiffon. He pulled at it until the rest of the strings came loose, conveniently pulling it away from her. His shirt followed shortly and he claimed her lips again before she could utter a protest. He worked quickly and lay against her again, moving so that she was pinned by his weight. He looked at her, allowing her to breathe.

"I still think this is a bad and possibly regrettable idea," she told him, rather less than iron control showing through her voice.

"Of course it is," he whispered against her mouth. "Would it be any other, coming from a man like me?"

She laughed. "At least you're not deluding yourself."

He grinned again. "We both are. Is this a performance or are you really taking on the role, Mrs. Jack Sparrow?"

She frowned. "That was to save you from a horrible death at the hands of Tortuga whores."

"Not at their hands, surely," he muttered. "Not a bad way to die. And what about poor Ayeka back there?"

"I'm not flattered, Jack," she told him. "I might just go back to my time to spite you and forget about helping you." He smirked at her.

"What _would _it take to flatter you?"

"I … I don't know," she answered, confused by the question.

He met her eyes and drew close enough that his eyelashes fluttered against her skin in a teasing line. "I meant what I said before Ol' Barbie showed up. If you're afraid to give your heart away, then don't. Things are less complicated when both parties remain unfettered."

"I do not choose to whom my heart goes to," she answered. "Which is why I try not to get to close to anyone, should they slip past my defenses and find it unguarded."

"Have I passed your impressive defense system," he asked, more curious than anything else.

"No one penetrates my walls anymore," she answered solemnly.

"Why do I think you seem sorry about that?" Jack asked, also sincere. She looked at him and he drew closer. She turned her face away, still held in his arms.

"Jack, I don't think I can do this," she told him. "It isn't that it feels wrong, but I know it must be."

"Why?"

The question startled her and she turned back to look him in the eye. "Well, I suppose because everyone has told me it is wrong up to now."

"Luv, have you ever listened to them? I thought you made your own rules."

"Yes, but now I must choose what is fun and what is proper."

He grinned and nuzzled her neck. "It's remarkable how often those two alternatives coincide. Which will you choose?"

She sighed. "I don't know."

He smiled at her in a somewhat condescending way. "Sometimes, things that are fun can be proper in their particular situations."

She looked at him, his eyes glowing in the torchlight, his golden brown skin gleaming. Did she belong to this man? Did she want to? She was so confused herself, she wasn't sure what to do, but her nature was never to run for fear. She sat up a notch, and after breathing nervously, she kissed him gently, hiding her face along his neck afterwards. He laughed and hugged her to him. "Welcome to the Caribbean, luv."

…

Robin was not pleased when she woke. Her feet hurt from their several cuts and her face was still bruised. Tavington had not been found after that night and she had the suspicion that he was on his way to Tortuga. She cursed under her breath. Norrington had meant well and he had rescued her, but still had betrayed the secret.

She sat up painfully and got dressed in a loose fitting smock the color of dried grass. It gave her skin a lovely tone and her hair, when arranged correctly, shown gold in some light. She went downstairs, walking barefooted to ease her cuts from the glass and sat at the table. It was September 3rd according to this time. School would have started tomorrow. Robin missed everyone desperately. She was sure it would all be better if Jack were there. He always seemed to entertain, especially when fighting with Ryoko.

Robin looked up from her meal expectantly when the doorbell chimed. A few moments later, as the table's occupants stared at the doorway to the dining room, two men and the butler entered.

One was Commodore Norrington, freshly shaven and clean, walking with a slight stoop in favor of his abdomen. The other man was pale faced with a stoic expression. He had wavy dark brown hair that fell aside his face to curl childishly at the nape of his neck, framing his pallid visage. His eyes were so dark as to almost be called black and his nose, pointed very aristocratically. He had a no-nonsense attitude to him, dressed in pure black, even his cold buttons moving straight up to his neck. He was without frills or decoration of any kind yet he commanded the attention of the people in the room.

"Good day, Mr. Turner, Mrs. Turner, Miss Talbott, Gonzales, Mr. Maxwell, Robin. This is Mr. Topher. He is to be Robin's constant guard."

"I don't need a guard," Robin scoffed.

"I cannot be by your side at all times, Robin," Norrington said, misunderstanding her comment. "Mr. Topher is trained in this profession."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Robin snapped. "I don't want him. I can fend for myself without an intimidating shadow. Tavington is in hiding or gone. He has what he wanted and you were dumb enough to give it to him."

Norrington shook his head. "I highly doubt Mr. Tavington will square off with Sparrow and win."

"You never know," Robin said mysteriously. "You said you highly doubted that Jack and Ryoko could escape from under your nose and they did."

Norrington cleared his throat and tried his best not to look indignant, though he couldn't hide the blush creeping up his pale cheeks.

It was the quiet, calculated voice of Mr. Topher that filled the pregnant pause following her comment. "Miss Skiles, make no mistake. I am going to watch you regardless of your objections." Robin looked aghast and Norrington swallowed.

"Mr. Topher, do you really think I—" Norrington was cut off by Topher.

"Commodore; you have given me an assignment and I am to carry it out."

"But I don't want a bodyguard," Robin muttered meekly from her seat.

"I think it best you allow Mr. Topher to protect you," Elizabeth told her. "We would hate to have a repeat of Tavington's daring action."

Robin restrained herself from making a face but agreed reluctantly. "Fine, but he's not sleeping in my room."

Mr. Topher bowed. He didn't look very menacing. His shoulders were not very wide, he wasn't as tall as Will or Norrington, and he didn't look mean. Robin only hoped his presence would discourage Tavington, should he decided to return.

Her first outing was two days later. She was going to town to fit a pair of comfortable shoes. Topher was to accompany her. He simply walked beside her like a protective pet and made small suggestions, not much of a talker. All Robin found out about him was that he had been in Port Royal for a few years, since 1756 when the war began, he was American, or would be if he lived long enough (it was only 1758. The American Revolution began in 1776. At the moment, they were in the midst of what would be known as the Seven Years War, or the French and Indian ware in North America.) He had been born in what was the colony Massachusetts and his first name was Christian. Christian Topher, the bodyguard and stoic.

Robin noticed, as she studied his face, that he was attractive. He would have been even more so had he ever smiled. He had a round pleasant face and looked as if he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer if he considered something to be wrong.

After getting her shoes, she stopped into the Post. There was nothing from Tortuga but there was one letter for Elizabeth from London. Robin took that with her and Topher followed, as silent as his boots permitted, them being the only sound that came from him as he walked over the damp road, crunching the loose gravel and dirt underneath the soles. They returned to the house and Robin gave Elizabeth her letter.

The woman tore it open and smiled pleasantly. "It's from my cousin! I haven't spoken to him in so long." She was immersed in her letter for a few minutes, her eyes darting back and forth over the page.

"He's coming to visit," she announced. "He'll be here in … a week? Oh my! We need to prepare! Quick!" she began barking orders to various hand servants who bustled about and cleared the tables and went to furnish his room.

"He should get here about the same time as Jack and Ryoko," Claudia observed. "And Diana," she added as an afterthought.

"Well, those two," Elizabeth grunted. "I suppose they could share a room."

"Are you kidding?" Lizzy exclaimed. "They've been together for almost a month now! They'll want to be rid of each other so badly that you might get strangled before finishing that quote!"

"Still," Elizabeth answered. "My cousin John is arriving as well. He will definitely get his own room and they are used to sharing. My statement stands."

"Don't we have any more rooms in this house?" Nick asked.

"We do, but those are needed," Elizabeth answered. "You haven't been here during a holiday yet. You will understand when Christmas comes. I expect we'll get father's leftover guests."

The girls and Nick didn't know what she was talking about but it didn't matter. It wasn't anything in which _they _were interested.

The rest of the day in Port Royal was uneventful. Lizzy mooned over DJ, or David, or both. Nick made swords and other things. Robin tried to avoid Topher but ended up running into him everywhere. Claudia drew some gruesome sketches. Elizabeth smiled to herself, patting her tummy, and Will, well, Will wasn't to be seen. He was in town, fishing for information on Tavington and Jack. He wanted to know what was going on and wished he had a telephone. The girls had explained the contraption to him and he coveted the idea of owning one. Instant communication would be so much easier than what he was doing.

…

The little rowboat was not designed to hold that many passengers but they managed. Dante and Barton managed the rowing while the women speculated. Pintel and Ragetti were along for the ride for some reason and so the boat was listing to scuppers.

They docked in Tortuga, standing on the dock, no one completely dry. The boat keeled and sank and Dante started laughing hysterically.

"He plugged it out," he pointed. "Why didn't we notice that? Your old boy Barbossa was trying to do us in. Look." There was a hole stuffed with cloth sticking from the bottom of the dinghy.

"Bloody _pirate_," Ragetti murmured.

"Bloody _man_," Belle added.

"Bloody _vampire_," Barton added at last. Dante shrugged.

The six walked into Tortuga under the moonlight and entered the first tavern that came into view, The Faithful Bride. They all sat at one of the long tables and ordered. Joshamee Gibbs noticed Ragetti and Pintel and nudged Cotton who was with him. It was their fifth day in Tortuga and they had yet to spot a hostile sort. Jack and Ryoko had come back from the gypsy camp the day before, not telling where they had been but bringing back clothing and other such things. Jack would not be pleased at this development.

Jack was dead drunk at the moment, unconscious on his bed in his quarters aboard _the Pearl_. Ryoko had awakened beside him, quite sober, and untangling herself from his limp limbs, was on her way to find her friends.

She was looking quite beautiful for being on a pirate ship. She wore a blue satin dress given her by Unorna and Diana had bought some makeup from the town and had appointed herself as her artist. Her hair had been pulled back partway by a calico ribbon and earrings, found in a box in the dresser of Jack's room, added a nice touch to her attire.

Ragetti and Pintel got kicked out of the pub early on in the night, not by the owner, but by Dante, who seemed to be a sort of leader. The two vampires had gone off together to hunt and he was left alone with Mei Lin. She didn't understand the raucous noises around her but she was happy to be on land. She straightened up considerably when Ryoko entered the pub, looking around the crowd for any of her friends.

"Ghost!" she whispered excitedly. Dante looked discreetly over and beheld the pretty girl at the door.

"_That's her_?" he asked in Chinese. "_Scarlette Sparrow_?"

"_She keeps changing_," Mei Lin added. "_The first time, she was in strange clothing, the second, dressed like Jack, the third, not dressed at all, and now, perfectly proper for this country anyway_."

"A jack of all trades," Dante murmured in English. "Leave this to me." Ryoko turned and left and Dante quickly followed. Mei Lin stayed seated at the table and began to observe the crowd herself.

Ryoko obviously had no idea that she was being followed and Dante was convinced of his target, not paying attention to anyone else. He did notice a few whores who pointed and murmured. "Jack's woman. Yes, he's finally done it. No, don't go up to her, she'll kill you." He was positive of his quarry.

He caught up to her and pretended to stroll leisurely alongside her until he came to the store he wanted. He threw her into the dark doorway, not catching her grin. She hit the wall with her hands and spun away from the demon hunter. He had not been as subtle as he'd thought and she _had _noticed him following her. She did not anticipate the second man, however, who darted into the store after them. The two men grappled for a bit, Ryoko slinking away in their confusion.

"Stop hitting me, man," Dante exclaimed. "She has flown, thanks to you." He struck a match and a lamp flared to life. "Who are you, man?"

"My name, you mean? I'm Darren Tavington. I'm after the Sparrow prize!"

"Ah, I as well. I am Dante Smith. A pleasure, I'm sure. Well, now she's gotten away. I suppose you have a picture of her to know her face?"

"No," Tavington answered. "I heard the whores. They never seem to be wrong around here."

"Ah, well then. Shall we?" Dante offered the open door. Tavington left and Dante followed. They retrieved Mei Lin and began searching for Ryoko.

Who, at the moment, was watching them. She waited until they had left with Mei Lin to enter The Faithful Bride again.

"Mr. Gibbs," she addressed the Bos'un. "We need to leave. Two bounty hunters are here."

"Leave?" he exclaimed. "Ye not be knowin' much lass." He drank a long draught of his drink. "We canno' leave yet. Two more days. Where be Jack?"

"Asleep," she snapped. "Would you put his life below your furlough? We need to get out of here or those two'll get smarter! If I hadn't seen the one, I might not be here right now!"

"Ah, leave me," Gibbs complained. Ryoko stamped impatiently and searched the pub for others who might listen. Bootstrap Bill sat in a secluded corner drinking sparingly. She walked up to him and he greeted her with a broad smile.

"Hullo, Scarlette," he said in his rough voice. "What's on yer mind?"

"We need to get out of Tortuga now!" she told him. "I just ran into two bounty hunters who might have reinforcements."

He took her seriously. "Aye, that be a good reason to be leavin' but the men won't like it."

"I understand," she sighed. "But then again, I don't. Are pirates so addicted to danger that they would put others at stake?"

"I say you should stay on _the Pearl_, dear," he told her. "That way, if worst comes, you'll be safer."

She nodded and set out for the ship. She was nearing the outermost lane when the complaints of a chicken roused her interest. There, dead ahead, though the various citizens and occupants of Tortuga, she spied Pintel and Ragetti, attempting to catch the poor fowl.

"Lucky chicken," she muttered. "She gets to live another day." Ryoko stepped in front of the chicken, the bird flapping and squawking in distress. She (the chicken) flapped her wings desperately and Ryoko, not afraid, grabbed the poor bird by the feet and tossed her over the short wall to her right. Now she was faced with Ragetti who had the most peculiar look upon his face. He pointed halfheartedly at her, his index finger as dirty as the rest of him, his fingernail cracked and yellow.

"I swore I seen yoo b'fore," he muttered, cocking his head to the side and looking at her with his good eye. "Jus' don' know where?"

"You really are a fool," Pintel insulted him, pulling his foot out of the mud where he'd sunk in. "Dat be Missus Sparrow, dummy."

"I take it Barbossa's here if you two are," she asked in a roundabout way. "I thought we'd killed him."

"Na," Ragetti spilled to her pretty face. "Ol' Barbossa's gone back ta New Orleans, I don' know why. 'E's' still alive, too."

"But you cin come wif us," Pintel offered. "We won't 'urt you."

"Horrible liars, the both of you," Ryoko said smiling. "One; you would take me straight to whoever you're answering to right now in hopes I'd give you Jack's position. Two; you'd do with me as you pleased if I were tied up and helpless. Three; you'd rob me of everything on my body. And four; you're still mad at me for killing off your comrades." She stored her worry over Barbossa for later. Having hysterics over him being once again not yet dead in front of these two would not be productive.

"She was one whot killed Jacoby," Pintel added solemnly.

"Da Captin ses she done in Abuta's well," Ragetti answered in a more relieved tone. "Zat true?"

"True," she answered. "Jacoby's neck is broken and Abuta has a very big sword protruding from his body."

"But ... But yer jus' a wench!" Pintel exclaimed, taking a bold step forward. "We's not scared o' you."

"Hey ... hey Pintel," Ragetti said, tugging on his partner's sleeve. "Hey, don' she kinda remind ya of Jack? A'ways doin' sommat we says 'e can't? Ya know?"

"No, you dolt, 'cause Jack is a man, an' she's a wench! Dere's a diffrunce … anatomically … not dat you'd know."

"I'm not talkin' 'bout amanatomically!" Ragetti whined. "Alls I meant wus they acts the same! I's not stupid." As usual, he managed to convey his lack of intelligence with a completely straight face.

"I'm gonna take yer eye and feed it to dat goat over dere if you don't shut yer trap!" Pintel exclaimed. He turned back to Ryoko, who had, once again, conveniently disappeared as her foes argued. It does remind one of Jack's disappearance as Murtogg and Mullroy had debated on the existence of _The Black Pearl_.

She hadn't gone far but was beyond the two pirates' view. She was on the dock before _they _erupted from the water. Both of them over six feet tall, one with long red hair, the other with shaggy brown. They landed on either side of her and each seized an arm. Belle and Barton, catching a glimpse of her earlier, had decided to wait at the dock. They hadn't needed to breathe and could sense her before she drew within fifteen yards of them.

"Well, well," Belle purred. "Where's Jack? We'll let you go if you tell us."

"How the hell should I know where Jack is?" Ryoko asked, smarting off to the vampires holding her. "I'm just the woman. He doesn't tell me where he goes. For all I know, he's out in a brothel, drunk on rum and other things like the perfume of a woman other than me." She added spite and words to her speech and even though the two vampires could have known if she was prevaricating or not, they bought it all.

"Yeah, now let me go before I burp up the garlic I had for dinner," she told them. She wasn't sure it would work because in half the stories she'd read about vampires, garlic didn't work. Luckily, these were Dracula and Buffy style vamps who didn't like the thought of a particularly pungent vegetable.

"Go check the ladies' houses," she suggested. "Let me know when you find him. I'll be up there in _The Nuances of Light_ sleeping or crying." She pointed to a Corvette down away in the harbor, one that she had admired earlier that day. The vampires, gullible to the extreme, let her go and moved off quickly. She waited for them to leave and boarded _the Pearl _in a hurry. She ran up to the Captain's quarters and shut the door behind her.

She turned around to find Jack still blissfully unconscious and smiled. "Right where I left you."

…

The vampires met the pirates first. They compared stories and before long, Dante and Mei Lin joined them, along with Tavington. Now the group consisted of three bounty hunters, four if you counted Mei Lin, a vampire and two cutthroats, all out for Jack's life and possibly Ryoko's. And thanks to the girl, they knew where she was. They moved past _the Pearl_, which no one seemed to even glance at, and boarded _The Nuances of Light_.

Several shots went off once they had been discovered and by morning, five of the seven were being held in the local jail.

To be held in a jail is one thing, but to be in a jail of Tortuga was downright horrid. Ragetti, Pintel, and Dante were in one cell, Tavington and Mei Lin in the opposite. Barton and Belle had jumped into the bay when they heard they shots and hadn't been seen since. One thing was certain; there hadn't been any pirates on that ship. It was completely merchant, the smell of spices permeating the planks. Scarlette Sparrow had thrown off the vampires but they wouldn't be fooled for long.

Of course, Barton hadn't really paid much attention when seeing _the Pearl _and he wasn't the smartest of characters. The only ones that knew the ship for sure were Pintel, Ragetti, and Dante, all of which were in the pen. The others hadn't paid enough attention to detail to know which was which. _The Pearl _was not the only black sailed ship in the harbor.

The sun rose with a piercing light and the vampires were in hiding, the others in jail, and the Sparrow prize still untouched.

…

Ryoko, not wanting Jack to leave before telling him about the hunters, decided that getting into the bed would be a mistake. He could rise without rousing her at all and that would be potentially fatal for one or both of them. She grabbed one of the heavy chairs and lifted it, staggering with the cumbersome chaise to the door. She set it down lightly and pushed it up against the knob, sitting in it. Her feet did not touch the floor and her head did not come to the top of the back but that was okay. The chaise was made like that for the seas because squalls could send a lesser chair flying across the deck.

One thing that was hard for her was staying awake. Her head slumped and her eyes closed for a moment, snapping to attention a few seconds later. Eventually, these snaps stopped occurring and she slept, sliding sideways in the chair. Dawn then was but minutes away.

Jack woke with a start, realizing something was different. He looked around and discovered Ryoko in the chair. He smiled to himself and stood, shaking his dizziness from his head.

She slept on as he knelt in front of her, raising her chin. The earrings clinked merrily and her golden hair fell forward to cover her face. He laughed softly and picked her up as one would a small child. He laid her on the bed and pulled the bedclothes up to her chin. He debated getting rid of the satin for her but decided against it. If she woke while he was undressing her, he'd be sure to wear a hand shaped mark the rest of the day, or worse, a bruise the size of her dainty knuckles.

"I'll be back," he whispered, brushing her forehead with his lips. Her eyes flew open and she grabbed his arm.

"No!" she exclaimed. "Don't go!"

He, of course, misunderstood her. "If you didn't want me to go, why did you leave?"

"No!" she repeated. "I came to tell you something important. There are at least two human bounty hunters here, Mei Lin, those two vampire creeps Barton James and that red headed giantess of a woman, Pintel and his stupid friend, and to top it all off, Barbossa is still alive."

The shock was quickly covered by halfhearted mirth. Jack shook his head. "A taste of my own medicine. The old devil was right. He's not here, I take it."

"No," she answered. "But Gibbs refuses to listen."

"That's because he doesn't trust you," Jack explained. "He still thinks the whole prophecy deal is a bundle of hogwash."

Ryoko sat up in bed and shook her head. "We need to leave immediately!"

"No," Jack answered. "The men wouldn't stand for it. You just stay here on the ship and I'll warn everyone."

"I'm not staying here," she told him. "Not if you're going to go and risk everything again."

"I believe we've had this conversation before," he told her. "Last time I told you to stay put, I ended up chasing after a bunch of bandits and your screams."

"Which led to us finding Bootstrap," she retorted, her quick banter always at the ready. "The last time I told _you_ to stay, you got stabbed and almost eaten by sharks."

"You're not coming with me," he told her, motioning with his hands.

"Then don't leave," she commanded. He smirked and shook his head. He moved towards her quickly and she became slightly frightened. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't follow me, this time," he answered. She jumped off the bed, or tried to, becoming tangled in the sheets. He trapped her limbs in the thick covers and used a spare scarf to tie her hands behind her back. He did the same with her ankles and tucked the covers into the bunk frame, effectively trapping her. Even as she thrashed, the covers did not give way and as he sat in the chair and watched, she slowly gave up, fixing a glare on him.

"Sleep, woman," he commanded, and left her there, closing the door, not bothering to put the chair back. She sighed and eventually, she did sleep.

…

Tortuga's grime was more evident in the daylight and Jack skirted most of the more unpleasant corners on his way to find information. His first stop was the town jail, though what help it would do, he couldn't say. The jailer didn't even look up from his papers until Jack cleared his throat.

When the pirate had done so, the old man raised two gray eyes, his forehead wrinkling. He shut the book he was perusing and straightened up with an annoyed sigh. "What do you want?"

Jack smiled harmlessly and struck up his own voice, allowing the impolite jailer to listen carefully. "I'm here to survey, warden. I was supposed to be here last week but due to the storms, I was late."

The jailer fidgeted and messed with his vest buttons. He hadn't known an inspection would be taking place. Jack didn't look the type, but who knew? If Jack became unsatisfied with conditions, the jailer would have him killed. In a town like Tortuga, even the so called law abiding citizens were murderers, con-artists, thieves, lawyers, and the like.

The jailer, a man by the name of Grene, nodded to an old door that looked to be fused into the wall. Jack smiled and thanked him, pushing on the door. It wouldn't budge. He continued to push and Grene sighed again. The short man got off his stool and went to the door, turned the knob and _pulled_ the door open.

"Right," Jack nodded. "I knew that. I was just testing you. Luckily, you passed." He entered the room and Grene slammed the ancient door behind him.

The cells came alive as he entered and there were grimy looking men, and a few women, pressed against the bars, imploring him with their sunken eyes.

"Oh, you!" a high pitched male voice called. "Hello! Can ye get me out?" Jack turned to the voice and met Colin, the Scottish man who owed him ten doubloons.

"You owe me money, sir," Jack pointed out. "And you almost got the girl with me kidnapped."

"Oh," Colin sighed. "She did get away then. She threatened me som'mat horrible."

Jack grinned. "Nothing you don't deserve." He ignored Colin's whines and continued down the cells. "Ah, this is more like it." He was standing in front of Ragetti, Pintel, and Dante's cell.

"Jack!" Pintel exclaimed. "You come to bust us out! How could we ever leave you!"

"You must be mistaken," Jack told him shortly. "How is ol' Barbie still alive?"

"I believe that would be the gentleman with the pointy teeth's doing," Dante's voice cut in. He sat up from his place on the floor and stared at Jack. "Wow. You must be Jack Sparrow. I've always wanted to meet you."

"Captain," Jack added with a sigh. "_Captain _Jack Sparrow."

"Ah, of course," Dante nodded. "And what of the lady?"

"Asleep," Jack answered. "Not that it matters to you. Which of you blockheads is this bounty hunter?"

Dante raised a hand, trembling lightly. "That would be me and the gentleman behind you. Belle Watling, that gorgeous red haired minx is after your head as well, though being immortal doesn't put the money in the same light."

Jack turned to find Mei Lin standing at the bars, her large almond eyes pleading. The man that crouched behind her fixed a glare on Jack.

"You do realize that after I leave," Jack announced. "That it's unlikely you'll ever get the chance of killing me again, right?"

Dante smiled and stood, using the bars to pull himself up. "I don't think you understand, my good fellow. You have but one safe zone, and that is Port Royal. There are several ways to change that."

Tavington stood. "Shut up, Dante. You know nothing."

Dante smiled. "_Au contraire, Monsieur, je sais tout_."

Everyone looked blankly at him. Jack raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

"Do you not speak French, Captain?"

"Not me," Jack answered. "That would be Scarlette."

"Ah, I see now. She is the one who fended for you in _L'Hôtel du Monde_. I did wonder. I said, on the contrary, sir. I know everything. I know that Norrington, though wishing to keep the ladies of Port Royal safe from Tavington's perversions, also wishes to catch Sparrow at some misdeed."

Tavington gasped and exclaimed. "How do you know this?"

Dante smiled. "I can read minds, but only when one is asleep. You were conveniently within range a few minutes ago while you were still unconscious."

Tavington growled in rage. "Dante; if you weren't over there, I'd kill you right now."

Jack looked from man to man. "Will someone please explain to me what's been going on?"

Dante obliged. "Tavington here has been delved a disappointment concerning the ladies and wants revenge. He thinks by killing you and your lady friend that his hurt ego will be avenged."

Jack smiled. "You know, Dante, that is your name correct? Well, Dante. I'd happily free you from this cell for the information you've given me save for one thing. You're out to kill me. Where are Barton and Belle?"

"We don't know," Dante answered truthfully. "They cannot stand the light of the sun and thus, are in hiding now, but where, I cannot say."

"All of you confronted Scarlette last night," Jack told them. "She hastened to my position to tell me of your presence and attempted to keep me there."

"Where were you?" Dante asked.

Jack grinned and shook his head. "That would be telling. Ta, gentlemen, lady. I'm off. If you get out of jail before I leave, take into consideration the fact that I did not kill you." He exited the jail house, Colin pleading loudly after him.

"Wonderful place, sir," he said to Grene as he left. "Don't let the ones with the China girl out for at least another week." Grene watched him go and shrugged. Jack Sparrow would not need to be killed by him.

…

Ryoko was still asleep when Jack entered the room quietly. He almost shot a hole in the chair when he opened to door to it, forgetting that he'd left it there. He closed the door silently and tiptoed about the room, looking for his spyglass. It was about 8:00 in the morning and he wanted to go up and scan for potentially dangerous ships. Barbossa was not in Tortuga, but who was to say he wouldn't be later? Jack located the spyglass and laughed triumphantly.

Ryoko awoke with a jump and fixed a groggy glare on Jack. "Are you going to let me up yet? My shoulders are sore."

He grinned at her. "I suppose I can let you up. We're safe for the time being. The vampires are undercover and the rest are in jail. There are actually _three _bounty hunters here, all with their sights on me." He leaned over her, teasing with just his proximity to her face as he untied the knotted scarves. She pushed him away and untied her ankles. She slipped on stockings, not forgetting the little garters Unorna had given to her. Unorna had been closer to Ryoko's size when she was younger and most of the clothing was still in good condition. She hadn't a need for it so Ryoko benefited. Jack waited while she changed her dress.

She came out of the cabin, dressed in a pearl colored dress with crimson embroidery down the center of her bodice, continuing to frame the yards of her skirt, leaving the front to flow an unmarred cream. She left her hair in the same style, the top layer pulled back, leaving the bottom layers free. She used a set of hoops for earrings and left the brass bracelet on her right wrist. The necklaces of course, swung freely around her neck.

Jack shook his head. "I thought you didn't like wearing dresses."

"I've got a pair of breeches underneath," she enlightened him. They walked down the gangplank and began to walk about. Jack headed up the trail to the mountains, skirting the cave entrance. She followed with little difficulty, her boots just as good as his, if not better for less wear.

Once he reached a sufficient summit, he trained the spyglass on the horizon. There wasn't a ship in sight save for the ones already moored. Jack smiled to himself and was about to snap the scope shut when a noise made him turn around. Makeo was standing behind Ryoko with his hands covering her eyes.

Jack pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the bandit leader's head. "Step back, son. I'll not hesitate to send you down, savvy?"

Makeo shrugged and let her go. She gave him a dirty look and moved in Jack's direction. "Put the pistol away. He was only playing." Jack did so and pulled her to his side. She gave a small complaint but didn't fight him.

"No need to get territorial, Jack," Makeo told him. "I'll not overstep my bounds with her. Unorna sends greetings and also, an invitation."

Jack frowned. "When?"

"As soon as I could find you," Makeo told him. "She has someone you might want to meet." The young bandit skidded down the hillside and Jack followed reluctantly. Ryoko pulled up her skirts and tried not to fall as she slipped.

"Oye, Makeo," Jack called. "Might you help her down?"

Makeo obliged and returned to Ryoko, his exotic turquoise eyes blinking at her.

"I don't need his help," she said stubbornly, passing the bandit. "Nor yours for that matter. You don't think I can get down this hill by myself?"

"Makeo," Jack stated. "I'm giving you permission to 'help' her down to the mouth of the cave." Makeo nodded and picked Ryoko up, tossing her over his shoulder. She yelled, shouted, and pounded against his nicely tanned back to no avail. Had she been willing to dirty the dress, she could have gotten away, but rather than make a mess, she grudgingly allowed herself to be carried. They arrived at the cave and Makeo set her down as gently as he could manage without being hit.

"God dammit Jack!" she exclaimed. "I am not some fragile doll to be carried around in Styrofoam!"

Jack shrugged and tried not to grin too widely. He knew what she was and knew that she would have refused help even when breaking her leg on the fall. He didn't, however, know what Styrofoam was and decided that it was some future thing that didn't concern him. Styrofoam. It had a nice ring to it.

They entered the cave and came upon the lighted main room. Unorna sat upon her seat of purple cloth still and smiled at them as they came into sight. She motioned to her left and another old woman came into sight.

"You!" Jack exclaimed. It was the woman from the pub, the Oracle.

"Jes, man?" she purred at him, blinking her sloe eyes. "I remember jou." She looked at Ryoko and smiled, the first time anyone had seen her do so. Her teeth were blackened, some of them missing, leaving gaping holes in her grin, a living jack o' lantern.

"_One woman, a leader as well,_

_will be de one, as time will tell._

_ De one who leads de one's who sing,_

_and one as well who wears de ring_

_ upon which deat', a face is shown,_

_wid eyes ob blood, a gem unknown_

_ When time has called, she'll be de one,_

_who keeps jour name and sees de sun._"

"That was cool!" Ryoko exclaimed, moving over to the woman. "Can you write that down for me? I liked the rhythm of that, whatever it was." The woman spent a few moments dictating as Ryoko wrote it down. When she was finished, Libussa nodded and Ryoko grinned, folding the scrap of paper and putting it within Jack's compass, much to his amusement.

"Was that what you wanted?" he asked of Unorna. The woman smiled mysteriously and her sister grinned again. "I take it she's the right person," Jack pointed out. All he got were more mysterious eyes and faces.

"I'm getting nervous," Ryoko whispered. "They just keep smiling."

"I'm leaving now," he hesitated. No one called out so he continued, Ryoko following.

They returned to the dusty roads of the seaside town. Many a man was laying in the road, drunk or dead, the latter obviously hard to tell from the former, the smell being just as bad. Jack avoided the bodies, stepping over them easily, Ryoko having to jump over the bigger men, carefully lifting her skirts to keep the hems from getting dirty.

Jack entered the pub and sat down, Ryoko following suit. Gibbs was not inside but Bootstrap and Cotton sat down beside them, gladly making room for a few others to sit at the bar in their places.

"How be you, Jack?" Bootstrap asked with a drawl reserved for early morning coffee.

"Fine, as usual. Barbossa's still alive," he sighed, stabbing the table with a little knife hidden somewhere on his person.

Bootstrap cursed but corrected himself in favor of Ryoko. "That swine doesn't know what's good for him. Is that the second time he's died and come back?"

"You don't need to abase yourself for my benefit," Ryoko told him. "We burned him to a crisp. I don't understand how he could still be alive unless he had some powerful blood when he was made. I wonder how old Barton is."

The men shrugged and the parrot squawked. "Kahlua! Kahlua!"

"Aye, Cotton's right," Jack said. "We need a drink."

"It's just after dawn," Scarlette pointed out. The men looked at each other and shrugged, ordering anyways. "Bloody pirates," she cracked, taking her own mug and joining in as well.

…

Elizabeth waited at the docks with Will and Nick, wishing the inspections of the incoming passengers would hurry. She could see her tall cousin and was nearly trembling with excitement. She hadn't seen him since they were young. Will didn't particularly like John Jadent. He had visited Elizabeth after Will had come to live in Port Royal and had played a less than amusing trick on Will including Governor Swann's powdered wig, a rubber belt, and a broken timepiece. The man was extremely intelligent and all too witty for his own good.

When he came sauntering down the plank, his valet carrying a large trunk, Will remembered just how contemptuous he had been towards the blacksmith. John, with his long blond hair, his brilliant blue eyes, and his all too aristocratic flair, was an arrogant jerk who would double-cross his own mother for money. His only fault as he saw it, or his only good trait, as Will saw it, was that he adored Elizabeth as his cousin and the news of her marriage to Will and the coming child, put him in a good mood towards Will Turner.

The valet and Nick managed to get the entire caravan of luggage to the carriage in the road and they set off for the Turner estate, Elizabeth and John chatting animatedly. Will sat beside his wife, attempting to hide his discomfort, jumping when the carriage stopped. He quickly ushered Elizabeth inside, John following, his valet staggering under the weight of his luggage.

John was shown his room, Claudia, Robin, and Lizzy glancing at him, giving muffled giggles. He smiled rakishly at them and Lizzy blushed. He knew the effect his looks had on women and he didn't care.

The servants bustled about, making him comfortable, offering him everything he could possibly want and setting about in the kitchen at Elizabeth's orders to prepare the meal in his honor.

As the meal was taking place, John asked several questions, many of which were about the flourishing town.

"Last time I was here, Uncle Swann's was but one of few houses that were civilized," he bit off a piece of chicken, chewed it carefully, and continued. "I'm glad to see the Jamaicans haven't swallowed it back up. How is the fort coming?"

"Fort Charles is well off," Elizabeth told him. "Commodore Norrington runs a good show, especially with his record for hangings."

John swallowed. "I heard Sparrow got away again."

Elizabeth blushed. "Yes, well, Jack Sparrow always gets away."

"He's quite big news in London," John told her. "His ructions with the Nassau merchants as well as Norrington's navy have made him quite a big name. We don't hear much about pirates, anymore, what with the war going on. The last one I heard about was named Jocard, an ex-slave. Jack, though … he's talked about all around. Lord something or other … Bucket, I think, with the EITC … He's especially anxious to seize him. He's got a price out on him big enough to tempt me."

"Jack is safe in Port Royal," Will mentioned bluntly. John smiled at his cousin's husband.

"I wouldn't go after him even if he weren't," John assured him. "I'd rather procure his riches first." He received blank stares from the occupants of the table. "Oh, don't look at me like you don't know. That ship of his is worth millions for its speed as is the stash he's got, wherever it's hidden. Any man who can get even a fraction of what Sparrow has hoarded over the years would be well off."

"That'll go to his heir," Claudia blurted, swallowing the carrot she had speared on her fork.

"He has an heir?" John and Elizabeth asked simultaneously. Claudia looked around, sensing she'd made a blunder. She hadn't even told her friends about the prophecy. As far as she knew, only Ryoko, Jack, Gibbs, and she understood that part of the scheme.

"Never mind," she said hastily. "I don't think he has one."

"Well," John said, stretching his neck. "I have heard rumors that the man has taken a wife. Supposed to be a tiny little thing, not that I've seen her."

"She isn't his wife," Robin said, slightly angry.

John turned his attention to her, sounding awfully intrigued. "Isn't she now? What do you know of the situation?"

"Nothing I'd share with you," she told him. Will smiled. She didn't like John either. Sometimes he wished Elizabeth possessed some of Robin's character judgment.

John shrugged and dinner continued without further discussion of Jack and his wealth, although they did talk about money for a while.

…

Ryoko and Jack were walking towards the docks. It was the last night in Tortuga and everyone was aboard. The vampires hadn't surfaced yet and the others were still in jail. Ryoko was skipping, singing softly as her small feet kicked up puffs of dust. She heard a complaint from an animal somewhere and stopped, noticing a gigantic cat.

"How cute!" she exclaimed, holding out a hand as she crouched. Jack sighed.

"Come on, woman. We need to go. That monster of a cat is never going to come near you if you haven't anything to offer."

"Nonsense," she told him. "Cats like me, and don't call me woman." The huge tom came sniffing and rolled onto its back, inviting her to scratch at its belly. She obliged and the cat let out a rumbling purr. He was a mocha grey color, his stomach a curious butternut, shadow stripes along his sides, his arms and legs bandy striped. He had large round eyes ringed in a matching butternut fringe of fur and the orbs glowed green.

Ryoko stood and the cat yowled angrily. Jack raised an eyebrow. It wasn't a very attractive cat for all Ryoko's adoration. She giggled and gasped when the cat leapt onto her shoulder, balancing with complete poised grace. Jack's eyes widened in surprise.

"That was … amazing in a fat sort of way," he remarked. That a cat that big could jump almost five feet and land without digging in his claws … it had to be magic or something.

"Damn, he's heavy. I'm taking him with us," she said. "I'll call him Phoenix. He reminds me of someone."

"You know someone that fat? Why don't you just call him Styrofoam," Jack cracked. "Whatever that is." Ryoko started laughing and continued to walk with Jack, Phoenix swiping at the pirate from her shoulder. He made faces at the cat as they continued.

"_How _does a cat get _that fat_?" Jack muttered. "He probably has fleas."

"As if the men on your ship don't," she commented. Phoenix hissed and reared up, digging claws into her shoulder as he lost balance. She yelped and Jack jumped, ready to swipe the cat off.

"No, Jack, it's all right. He was just spooked by something," she pulled Phoenix off her shoulder and cradled the spitting cat. He calmed a bit in her arms, his belly fat hanging over her arm in rolls. His bright eyes peered into the darkness.

"I never liked cats," a voice said from the dark. Barton emerged, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture. Belle came up behind them and Jack cursed under his breath. It was the last day, the last few minutes, in Tortuga, and they had been caught.

He pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Barton, who didn't flinch in the slightest. He smiled slowly and nodded. Belle came around, leaving their backs free.

"We aren't here to kill you," she told the pirate. "We're here to negotiate."

"I'm listening," Jack grunted. Ryoko looked warily around, thinking that perhaps the others were there to ambush.

"Barbossa's been an ass," Barton commented bluntly. "He left us here thinking we wouldn't kill you and we've decided, he's right. We aren't going to kill you. We've decided to become your allies instead."

"The prize on your head doesn't mean that much to me," Belle told him. "But getting even with that despicable captain does. I am willing to put our heads together."

Jack hadn't flinched. "What's in it for me?"

"We're vampires," Barton pointed out. "I can throw a man like he weighed nothing at all."

Jack glanced from one to the other. "And how do I know you aren't just trying to trick me, eh?"

Belle smiled at him. "She'll know."

Ryoko looked hesitant. "How would I know?"

"You seem to know about us," Barton told her. "You knew about the garlic and the silver and even about the decapitation. What else do you know about us?"

She looked nervous. "You can't stand the light and must sleep in a coffin by day. You can't enter a house without an invitation. If the heart is pierced or removed, you cannot live. You need blood to sustain yourself. There's a bunch of other debatable facts about your kind that I have read. I think Barton must be an older vamp because his blood was strong enough to revive Barbossa even after a burning."

"You are right, child," Barton said fondly. "Most of what you say takes some basis for correct information. We are not limited to a coffin and we can enter a house without permission, if there are no holy relics within or if the doorframe is not made of wood, which seems to be most houses. I _am _an older one, nearly a thousand years old. My blood was strong enough to sustain him and keep him alive as he burned to a crisp but he could not revive until after I had given him another infusion of blood. Now, he is more powerful, having sustained such an injury."

Ryoko was thinking when Phoenix jumped from her arms and went to sniff Barton. The cat looked up at the vampire and gave one flick of his tail, looking back to the girl.

"I think I believe you," she said hesitantly. "Cats have good instincts, as Elise said."

Jack lowered the gun. "I am rather reluctant to believe you on the basis of a cat's approval I just met but I will agree on one condition. You will not feed on my crew."

Barton nodded but Belle blanched. Ryoko saw this and asked Barton a question. "Is she old enough to do that?"

"Not nearly," Barton answered truthfully. "If she were to feed on rats, she might begin to decay. I will sustain her with my power."

"But then you will be stretched for control," Ryoko told him. "I've read about that happening. Can she be controlled around a donor?"

Barton looked at Ryoko thoughtfully. "My, you do know a lot about us. Yes, she has enough control but who would volunteer."

Ryoko shrugged. "I'll do it."

"No," Jack said automatically. Barton turned to him and fixed his eyes on the captain.

"The donor must be willing," Barton told him. "She is not strong enough to cloud your senses yet. It will be painful."

"I already said I'd do it," Ryoko piped up but Barton and Jack were staring at each other.

"I'll do it," Jack told him. "She'll need more than Scarlette can give."

Barton smiled, flashing fang probably for shock value. "How do you know we won't kill you?"

Jack smirked. "I don't, but I'd rather get munched on for a few days than my crew getting picked off. I figure I'm strong enough."

"Hello," Ryoko said, nudging Jack. "Am I an invalid or something?"

"He's right, child," Barton told her. "You are ... petite. Belle is not. If you would like to help as well, you may. Jack cannot feed her more than twice unless she takes from both of you. I hope the sight of blood does not appall you."

"Naa," she answered. "I've been stuck with more needles than I can count."

"Well, then," Barton smiled. "We agree." He shook with Ryoko first and then Jack and the four of them returned to the ship, Phoenix riding in Ryoko's arms, his furry rolls hanging over.

Bootstrap was waiting at the docks, pacing back and forth and eyeing the water with obvious distrust. Jack gave him an odd little glance. The vampires boarded with Ryoko. Jack and Bootstrap were alone at the foot of the gangplank.

"Are you all right, mate?" Jack asked nonchalantly. Bill wasn't fooled.

"I was only given ten years, Jack," he answered. Of what they spoke was known only between them. "I'm free of the abyss now, but only so long as I can stay on land."

Jack nodded once. "I'll risk it. After all, if technicalities aren't allowing, I'm sunk just as much as you are, if not worse. There can only be one captain on a ship."

Bootstrap looked up at Jack from the water. "Aye. Two days to Port Royal … shall we?"

"Welcome aboard, mate."

…

The night _the Pearl _arrived in Port Royal, Elizabeth, Will, and the rest of the Turner household had been invited to a feast given by Commodore Norrington. John Jadent had come down with a sickness due to the change in atmosphere. His system was not equipped for the warmer weather and he was kept at the house that night.

Jack allowed his men free reign, telling them not to do anything that could possibly anger the navy, telling the vampires to take only beggars as victims and leaving a few men on watch.

He and Ryoko walked down the dock, glancing around a bit hesitantly. They would be seen and known on the spot and were still nervous about the royal navy. They were nodded to a few times, glared at more often than not, but no one gave chase. They walked briskly and arrived at Will's house within a matter of minutes.

The doorbell chimed within the dark house ominously. The butler opened the door and ushered them in, telling them of the feast.

"Oh, well," Ryoko sighed, moving up the stairs. The butler knew them and didn't wait to see what they were going to do. He retired to his small room off the main hall as Ryoko and Jack mounted the stairs.

Ryoko went up to the third floor and went straight to the room she'd been staying in last time she had been in Port Royal, nearly two months ago. Jack stood in the doorway and watched her as she opened the window. She sat on the bed and shrieked as it began to move. Jack pulled out his pistol and trained it on the man who had risen from the bed.

It was a bit difficult to see but they could tell that the man had long blonde hair, straight and flowing, wisps escaping from the plait down his back. He groaned and struck up a flint match, lighting the lamp beside the bed. They got a good look at him before he began speaking.

Ryoko noticed his good looks. He had thin lips that curved in a mocking smile, quite different from Jack's grin. His eyes were a piercing blue that demanded questions though he said nothing. When he did speak, his voice was melodic and deep.

"Who the devil are you two?"

"I could ask you the same thing … less one," Jack snapped, sticking the gun into his waistband. The man stood up and offered a pale hand. Jack glanced at it and reluctantly grasped it in his darker one.

"John Jadent. I am living here under my cousin's roof."

"Captain Jack Sparrow," Jack told him. John was a few inches taller than he was, not that it mattered. John turned to Ryoko on the other side of the bed and moved to her.

"I'm impressed, Mr. Sparrow. I didn't expect to ever meet you. This must be Scarlette," he held out his hand to her. She reached out to shake his hand but he brought hers up to his lips instead. She refrained from wiping her hand on her dress when he was finished. "You are very beautiful, Mrs. Sparrow."

"Thanks, I guess," she muttered. "You don't need to flatter me."

"It isn't flattery, my dear," John told her. "I am rather surprised a wretch like Sparrow managed to capture such a specimen." Jack cleared his throat and John smiled. "I'm sorry, my good man. I meant no harm to your ego."

"No, you wouldn't," Jack told him, giving him very suggestive eye contact. "Even your pompous status would not permit you to insult one such as me."

The blond man chuckled. "And why not, Mr. Sparrow?" John asked him. "What have I to fear from you?"

Jack laughed. "First, one has to ask oneself this; can you blush, my good mate?"

Scarlette looked bored. "I'm going to kick someone if this continues." They ignored her like good 18th century males.

John smiled at him and laughed a sultry, very condescending tone pealing like that of a very large bell. "Mr. Sparrow, I am a master swordsman and an even better shot as a gentleman must be. If we were to duel I am afraid that you would lose."

"Would you bet your life on it?" Jack asked, winking at Ryoko. John looked to her, ignoring Jack.

"How did you come across him, dear? You are obviously of noble birth." He touched her face and she restrained herself from biting him. She merely allowed him to turn her face and looked into his eyes. A blade entered her vision and she noticed Jack brandishing his cutlass.

"Ah, ah, my good man," Jack told him, being just as condescending. "She is mine."

"I am not a thing to be owned," she told Jack. John looked triumphant but she beat him down as well, "nor am I available to be coveted, Mr. Jadent. _Vous __comprenez_?"

"_Ah, oui, Mademoiselle_," he answered.

"That would be _Madame_," she corrected. "I am married, Mr. Jadent, as you seem to have conveniently forgotten."

He nodded, the sly smile never leaving his thin lips. "I am sorry. I merely took in your age and appearance and added the title as I saw fit."

"How old do you think she is, man?" Jack asked him.

"To have married you? At least twenty three, I'd say."

« _Quel âge avez vous_? » she asked him. She was deliberately switching languages to throw the both of them off.

« _J'ai vignt cinq ans, Madame, et vous_? »

« _J'ai dix-sept ans, Monsieur Jadent_. »

« _Dix-sept ? Ce n'est pas possible !_ »

« _C'est vrai. Mon anniversaire est mai 9__ieme_. »

"What is going on?" Jack asked.

"He doesn't believe that I am only seventeen," Ryoko told him. "He is twenty five."

"You are younger than Elizabeth," John exclaimed. "I am amazed, Mrs. Sparrow. Do forgive me. One such as you could have snagged any manner of noble man for marriage. I had taken you for an older wife to Sparrow."

"You're forgiven, Mr. Jadent," she told him. "But you must respect Jack."

"You may call me John, and don't bother using _le vous_ form in French. You may use _le tu_."

She nodded. « _Je serai_. »

"Ah, Mr. Sparrow," John said. "You've a learned wife. Seventeen and she speaks French. I did not learn until I was at Oxford in my twentieth year."

Jack did not comment on this entire exchange but raised his eyebrows in annoyance. John exited the room and they followed. He turned on the lights in the parlor and had the butler bring out some snacks and tea. Jack did not ask for liquor and Jadent did not offer. The three of them spoke at each other, Ryoko being the go between, Jadent and Jack not even meeting the other's eyes. It was plain that they disliked one another. Jack knew Jadent had an eye on Ryoko and even though he was only playing to be her spouse, he felt territorial all the same. '_Plus_,' he thought to himself. '_If he gets out of line, I'll have to challenge him as if she actually _were _my wife. It would be inconsistent with the act if I did not_.'

A few hours later, the doorbell rang and the butler opened it to Kristin and Heather.

"Where's Diana?" Ryoko asked once they had been ushered into the house. The butler made no comments and no paring glances at them.

"She wasn't feeling well," Kristin explained. "She said she'll come up tomorrow. She always seems to be sick. I don't think she's eaten much this whole trip, and she's been here plenty longer than us."

Ryoko shrugged. "She'll be fine. She's very seasick." She made a vomiting motion and laughed nervously after which, she continued to talk to Jadent after introducing her friends. At three in the morning, with everyone still awake, the door finally opened and the hosts returned.

Everyone in the parlor stood to welcome the Turners and friends. Jack stayed back with Jadent as Ryoko ran to her friends, Robin, Claudia, and Lizzy attacking her with hugs.

"It took you long enough to get here!" Robin exclaimed. "You missed all the fun! I got _kidnapped_!"

"I'm sure she had fun of her own," Claudia giggled. "She got to be with Jack the whole time."

"Well, I don't know," Ryoko said, giving Jack a glance. "Jack isn't that fun. What's that supposed to mean anyway?" She glared halfheartedly at Claudia.

The captain in question grinned. "I am mortally wounded, luv. You've pierced me poor black heart."

Will, Elizabeth, and surprisingly, Norrington, who had accompanied them back by Will's invitation, walked over to Jack. Jack held out a hand to the Commodore and shook with him. "Thank you for allowing us back, Commodore."

Norrington glared. "Your pardon in this port only lasts as along as you can keep it, Mr. Sparrow. I needn't remind you that we are not friends."

Jack smiled quickly but nervously. "Right. I am hardly bereft. Well, sorry to disappoint but I'm not planning on getting' that pardon revoked. I'll not brush against you again if I can help it."

"For your sake, you'd better not," Norrington told him curtly. "And now, I believe introductions are in order."

"Ah, well I think you're right, for once," Jack answered, motioning to the dark haired man looming over Robin. "You first."

Norrington grimaced. "The only one you don't know is Mr. Topher, Robin's military body guardian."

Jack gave the man a glance and nodded. "She needs a body guard?"

Ryoko laughed. "No, really. Who is he?"

Norrington took a moment to think and answered them as vaguely as he could. "A certain bounty hunter by name of Tavington had brushed against me worse than you ever did, Mr. Sparrow. Robin was harmed by the same man. Mr. Topher has been employed to keep a watch on the last person he threatened, namely, Robin."

"Ah," Jack commented. "I met him. He was in a Tortuga jail cell, last I knew."

"Very well," Norrington said, only slightly interested. "Who are these young ladies?"

Jack smiled. "Scarlette can tell you better than I."

Ryoko nodded. "This is Heather Cook, and Kristin Thornburg. Diana is still on the ship, feeling too sick to come tonight. She'll be here in the morning. Will, we've got someone for you to meet as well but it's a surprise."

"Scarlette, eh?" Norrington noticed, raising one arrogant eyebrow. "Are you mocking me, Jack?"

"Would I do something like that? Not I, Commodore," Jack answered. Ryoko glared and shook her head. Jack gave her a commanding glance and she moved towards him. They whispered for a minute before Norrington cleared his throat.

"Is there something we missed, Mr. Sparrow?"

"Just a discrepancy between Scarlette and me," he told him. Ryoko clamped a hand on his arm and gave him a pleading but angry look. How she managed to convey both amazed everyone.

"We've already discussed this," he told her quietly enough that the others wouldn't overhear. "You have a role to play. If we blow it now, Jadent won't be the only one who gets in our way."

She sighed in resignation. "_Our _way? You mean _your _way. Fine, but I want to tell my friends the truth."

Jack shook his head. "Don't you dare. I know what I'm doing, luv. Trust me on this one." He could tell by the look in her eyes that she wouldn't say a word.

They turned back to their audience and Jack spoke to everyone. "Why are we all standing? Come, now Will. There's no need to keep everyone waiting. Let us all sit down and share some refreshments."

Will snapped out of his trance and nodded, sending the butler back for more food and some brandy and tea. Everyone sat on the several sofa sets, Elizabeth on Jadent's right, Ryoko on his left, then Jack, who put a possessive arm around her and shot dirty looks at Jadent. Will sat in a chair beside Elizabeth. The chaise-longue across from Jack and company was filled by Norrington, Robin, Topher, and Claudia and the matching divan was occupied by Lizzy and David. Nick took a lone chair nearest the door.

It didn't take long for Robin and Claudia to shoot each other glances about Ryoko's position next to Jack and the proximity in which they sat. Ryoko was purposefully not looking at any of them, especially not Robin. She wanted to postpone the telling of the lie as long as possible.

Norrington was just as observant. "Everyone keeps telling me that you two are not married but what I see before me leads me to conclude otherwise."

Jack spoke up, holding her against him for show. She gritted her teeth and tried not to frown. "When you made your ill designed jest on her status at the execution square, you were incorrect, Commodore. Since then, that status has changed, making you exact in your accusations."

The gasps were very audible and Lizzy fainted, David cradling her limp body. Nick looked less bored than normal and Robin and Claudia's mouths were open wide, staring at her.

"Does he mean that …" Claudia was stammering. "You're kidding right? You two aren't really married? That's absurd! She's only seventeen! You're like ... forty!"

Ryoko remained silent, allowing Jack to do the talking. "I am _not_ that old. I am barely thirty-one!"

"That's still old!" Robin exclaimed. Only Robin and Claudia were commenting, however. The others saw nothing wrong with this age difference. The era not only permitted it, but saw it as perfect.

Elizabeth smiled. "Congratulations, Jack." She was suddenly more friendly, the subject of Jack's marital status making him a safer man in her eyes. Will looked incredulous but he accepted it as well with a quiet sort of reserve. Jack had stopped surprising him long ago.

Eventually, someone got smelling salts for Lizzy and the men retired to the library, Jack included, leaving Elizabeth, Ryoko, Lizzy, Robin, Claudia, Kristin and Heather in the parlor. Topher stayed as well but took the chair near the door. Robin, Claudia, and Lizzy flocked to Ryoko's side and began to interrogate her brutally.

"He's kidding, right?"

"He's trying to embarrass you! I know it!"

"He's done for, isn't he? You're going to kill him for this, right?"

"Oh, Ryoko! I'm so jealous! How dare you say you'll never catch a husband!"

"For once the rumors are true!"

"Quiet!" Ryoko exclaimed a tad bit cruelly. Her three friends hushed and the other women listened as well. She took a deep breath and dove right into it "He wasn't lying." The squeals of delight and derision cascaded and Ryoko shushed them again. "I didn't want to tell you for fear of what you would think but he wouldn't let me keep it a secret. I am, as Norrington said, Mrs. Sparrow. Jack calls me Scarlette. It's easier for him to pronounce. Anyone I met after the fact does the same, including _the Pearl_'s crew."

Most of them were inclined to believe, but some were not so gullible, even to Ryoko's steel expression. "I think you're leading us on," Robin said honestly. "Where's the ring, and not the one on your necklace."

"There isn't a ring," Ryoko told her, but she pulled out the emerald and showed it to them, vaguely aware that it _did_ match his ring, the one on his right index finger, that was. Claudia took it in her hand after she'd unclasped it and looked into its depths, turning it over.

"There's something here," she said, running a finger over the gold backing. She gasped and handed it to Robin who looked as well. Ryoko had failed to notice the indentation on the back.

"I believe you," Claudia told her. "That proves it. The back has a bird engraved on it, which could only be a sparrow."

Robin nodded reluctantly and handed the necklace back. "Fine. I concede. But my dear _Scarlette_ … we have one question and I think I speak for the others when I ask. We are just dying to know. So, how is he, you know?" She grinned and raised her eyebrows.

"Robin!" Lizzy exclaimed.

"What?" Robin asked. "Can't I be blunt once in a while?"

Claudia was laughing loudly. Ryoko laughed lightly as well. "I thought it was my job to be the blunt one around here. Have you decided to be more direct lately? Or have you just missed me?"

They stared at her and Robin, blunt as she had become was the one to say it. "You're talking like _him_."

"What do you mean?" Ryoko asked.

"Your voice," Claudia pointed out. "It doesn't sound like ours. You've acquired Jack Sparrow's _accent_." She pronounced 'accent' with a French flare, making the word sound like 'ax-ont'.

Ryoko shrugged. "It doesn't feel strange to me but now that you mention it, I do see what you mean, or really, I hear it. That's what I get for spending all my time with Jack Sparrow."

"_Captain _Jack Sparrow," Kristin shot in from the other side of the room. Ryoko nodded.

"Yeah, what she said." She leaned back on the divan and closed her eyes.

Eventually, the night grew lighter and Elizabeth showed the girls to their rooms. The two Oregon girls were in one room on the second floor, Lizzy and Robin still in the same room they had always been. Claudia stayed in the room she had first occupied, Jadent taking Ryoko's old room. Elizabeth granted Jack and Ryoko the room next to Jadent's instead of the barn. Diana would be staying on the second floor with Claudia when she arrived the next morning. At last, everyone was together.

…

Muahaha! This reminds me of something ... I can't really say what, but something like it. How do you like Topher and Jadent? Jadent is one of those characters that seems to make it into all my stories under different identities. He is not in the CATS one, however. I think that might be the only one in which he hasn't been written. I'm writing several things at once, working on each depending which song pops up on Winamp. I just let the songs and skins cycle through. Wish I had a Depp skin. I haven't been able to look for a while. Will was the only one there when I looked last. There aren't many Johnny Depp ones out there, but tons of Legolas. I'm looking at one right now, oops. It just changed to one called "Pimpin' Pirates" (definitely not what you think). I've got about 800 different skins and about 20 of them have something to do with pirates. The vast collection of skins overwhelms me so I programmed them to change with the song. Pretty nifty. I guess I owe a disclaimer to Winamp. Oops. There it goes again. It's on Vegeta now, from DBZ. A disclaimer to CATS again. Tumblebrutus just jumped into my arms.

Until next time ... Cheers

Oops, I almost forgot. I needed a page count. 245 is the number as of yet.

Revisited 12-18-06 Pg count … 365


	14. Chapter XIII : Ransom Romance

"What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, and prick just as hard, dammit. You can't forget the freaking thorns!"

—My reply to a Shakespearean love

**Chapter XIII –Ransoming Romance**

Barbossa arrived in New Orleans and waited for the letter that would eventually come to him. He doubted that the Sparrows were dead, but one never knew. He held the paper Dante had given him in one hand.

Barbossa was not an evil man. He was not even an unjust man. What he was, was viciously practical and he knew how to draw Jack away from Port Royal, or wherever else he might be, right into his hands. His bluff and Jack's belief of his cruelty would be key factors in this new endeavor and without Mei Lin and the vamp lovers to hinder him, he'd catch the rat without so much as breaking a sweat.

He sat in Rosette's bar and sipped his rum, spitting it out into a napkin, contemplating his plan.

…

Jack heard the giggles before he opened his eyes and knew Ryoko's friends were pressed to the door, spying through the tiny crack. He grinned to himself. He'd give them something to remember and probably embarrass the hell out of Ryoko as well. It seemed to be a cruel hobby of his.

He sat up and woke Ryoko by dragging his hand in a slow gesture against her back. Sitting up grumpily, she glared at him sleepily, tangled up in the dressing gown she wore to bed. She reached to the stand beside the bed and drank a few draughts of water, licking her lips and sitting up as well. "What? You woke me up again. I hope you actually needed something this time."

He also reached for something to drink, but not something as mundane as water. He downed a flask of gin and dropped it back on the floor, turning towards her. He grasped her shoulders inescapably and without looking at the door and his audience, he kissed her passionately, sending the girls into a wave of giggles, their muffling attempts failing. Ryoko pulled back and glared even more viciously at him. She lowered her voice to bring her words only to his ears. "I know why you did that and I don't find it amusing."

He grinned at her and got up himself, throwing on a vest, his belts, holsters, jacket, and all his other trappings. He was sliding on his boots as she slinked out of bed to close the door, much to her friends' dismay. She dressed in a pale green dress made of watered silk. Unorna had not stopped at stealing things much beyond her worth. She ran an ivory comb through her tangled golden hair and was satisfied when she had it hanging in waves, a green ribbon pulling it back from her face but leaving it along her neck.

"I know you're enjoying your role immensely, Jack, but will you refrain from unessential embarrassment," she didn't even look at him as she said this. He came up behind her and took the comb away, putting his hands at her waist and making her face him.

"Listen," he told her. "Your resistance to the plan is getting a bit tiresome. I can and will make you follow it, savvy?"

She continued to look up at him, the dress bringing her green eyes out in a vastly amusing flash of color. "Jack, I am not afraid of anything you could do to me. I go along with your plan because I know your unpredictability will somehow embarrass me further should I tell them. And yes, I say it is _your_ plan that fetters me so. I did not agree to anything and would be perfectly safe if you did not drag me about and pretend I meant something to you."

He nodded. "I may just announce rather brashly, as my occupation seems to personify, some of the activities conducted on our travels, such as your drinking habits or … other, less respectable things."

She didn't even blink. "And would they believe you? Do you think they would take your word over mine?"

Jack gave one of his little smirks. "Would you like to find out, luv?"

She sighed, gripping the front of his shirt uncertainly. "I sometimes hate you."

He grinned and tapped her under the chin. "I knew you'd see it my way. Shall we?" He offered her his arm and she looked at it for a moment, still angry. Sighing again, she took his arm and he ushered her out of the room and down the stairs, their eavesdropping fellows long gone from the door before the conversation began.

"My, Scarlette," Jadent commented as they entered the dining room. "You look marvelous. If only your husband was that splendid one might actually take him seriously."

Jack glanced at Jadent and shook his head. "One would think I wasn't in the room the way this pompous oaf talks about me."

John smiled, patting to a seat next to him. "Sit here, Scarlette. Next to me." She gave Jack a look and sat next to Jadent. Jack shrugged and sat in between Claudia and Robin, both girls blushing. They had been at the door when he'd performed his show for them. Topher sat resolutely on Robin's other side, giving the pirate a cold glance. Elizabeth was still in a good mood and was clucking away, talking to Will.

"What should we name the baby, dear?"

"Baby? What baby?" Jack asked, suddenly very attentive to Elizabeth's conversation. "You're with child, luv? Great Styrofoam!"

The future kids started laughing. Elizabeth looked pleased. Ryoko just sneered, eyeing Elizabeth with slight contempt. She thought babies were one evil she'd rather never have to deal with.

"Yes, Mr. Sparrow. I am with child." Elizabeth was so happy. Her voice was giddy with emotion and even Jack's presence could not sully her mood.

"Lucky for you, you're here and not in those blasted colonies of the Americas as they like to call themselves," John muttered. "A pregnant woman in those places is supposed to hide her status. Here, one is proud to show her belly." Elizabeth blushed and scolded her cousin, who leaned over to Ryoko and whispered loudly, "She hates it when I tease her." Ryoko nodded, not sure whose side to take in that particular argument.

"I think you should name her Vanessa," Lizzy suggested. "It means butterfly."

"You could name it James," Robin said a bit ironically. Norrington was not in the house but she still wanted to torment Elizabeth.

"Melisande," Heather said smiling. "What a woman. What a name."

"How about Jack," Will joked, getting an outraged look from his wife and a somewhat shocked glance from the potential namesake. The table laughed.

"I was thinking Weatherby," she announced. Kristin choked and started laughing.

"No way!" Claudia exclaimed. "That can be his middle name. He's gotta be William. William Weatherby Turner, to carry on the Bootstrap name!"

"Speaking of which," Jack mumbled under his breath as the bells in the hall rang. The butler answered the door and ushered two more people into the kitchen. One was Diana, who hugged her friends, the other, was none other than Bootstrap Bill Turner.

He looked at Will with a steely gaze and smiled. Will had glanced up upon their first entrance. Now, he sat with some sort of dawning looking on his face. He turned back to the man in the doorway. Standing quickly, the wooden chair scraping against the floor with a rather harsh sound, Will cocked his head to the side. "You …."

"William." Bootstrap nodded and gave a tight smile, not sure what his welcome would be.

"Father?" Will asked timidly. "You … you're alive?"

Bootstrap chortled. "Did ye think I was dead? It's me all right." He closed the space between them and enveloped his son in a bear hug, tears falling from his weather beaten face.

"I never thought ..." Will choked. "I always assumed you were ... I can't believe it!"

"Well, I'll admit," Bootstrap laughed. "A 3500 pound cannon tied to me boots wasn't very reassuring. I'm alive, unless you'd rather me be below."

"Of course not," Will smiled. He turned to the table. "Everyone, meet my father. Father, meet Elizabeth, my wife."

"A pleasure, my dear," he told her, kissing her hand. "Welcome to the family. I expect you're going to have a boy."

"How can anyone possibly know that?" Will asked.

Bootstrap winked. "I know these things, son." He turned to the table where Jack sat watching the scenario unfold. "Jack; as much as I'd like to be your first mate, I'd rather spend me days here with my son."

Jack nodded, a dark look embedded in his eyes. "By all means, Bill. I plan to stay awhile as well."

"And what of Scarlette?" Jadent asked. "When you set off, will she be going with you?"

Jack had to think about that. He hadn't even planned that far ahead, which was strange. He didn't know what to do about her. He was afraid to leave her alone, yet, he wasn't sure about bringing her back onto the ship.

Bootstrap shrugged. "She can stay here. You'll be sure I'll look after her as if she were my daughter, or you, my son."

Ryoko was not commenting, but looking stormily back at Jack.

"Ah, Bill," Jack said. "You always know just what to say."

"Jack," Bill piped again. "You know that dark fellow, Barton wants to send them back for a time? They've been here bloody long. Excuse me language, ma'am. He wants to try tonight when he rises."

Jack nodded. "Sound good, ladies?" the girls chorused.

"I'll send you to ... what was it again?"

"California?" Ryoko supplied.

"That's the one! Kalifornyia."

"Why not Oregon?" Kristin asked.

"Organ?"

"Because LA is where everything is happening," Ryoko told her. "No offense, but I'm in no rush to run into my parents, who are in Oregon right now. My names are on the rosters for crying out loud! California for sure. Don't worry, we can show you around. Just don't follow Lizzy. She has no sense of direction whatsoever."

"Shut up," Lizzy giggled, blushing.

"Whatever," Robin said. "We'll get to go home tonight! Can we keep the clothes?"

"Of course," Elizabeth told her. "They are gifts."

"I don't think Ryoko should leave," Claudia piped up. "She's married in this time after all."

Ryoko grinned. "You think that'll stop me from going back? I'll come back, of course." She only wanted to get a few things, like a suitable bra and underwear she was used to, not to mention a toothbrush and paste, oh and a few womanly products she had been missing. She really hated what she had been forced to do when "Aunt Flow" decided to visit for part of the week. It was annoying and frustrating, having to go and check herself every few hours. She was sure the others had had an easier time of it, most of them being with Elizabeth.

The night fell on Port Royal and with it, came the vampires. Barton and Belle entered the house together, waiting calmly until Elizabeth invited them in. She had not been told what they were for fear of shutting them outside. Barton brought up a piece of gold, not a cursed medallion, but a candlestick about ten inches long. He instructed the girls and Nick to touch it, all eight of them finding a bit of metal to touch. He bit his fingertip and dropped a bit of his blood onto the stick.

There was a sound like a suction cup coming off a window and the stick was gone, along with six of the eight teenagers. Left in the parlor were Diana and Ryoko, both of which looked at each other in horror. Elizabeth fainted dead away, not prepared for what had just happened. Diana looked at the empty air and then at Ryoko. She burst into tears and ran up the stairs to her room. Ryoko simply turned and gave all her attention, every last furious fiber, to Jack. He swallowed audibly and took a step towards the door.

"Will," she spoke blandly, her voice monotonous but still holding all the anger she had stored away. "You will kindly hand me your sword, hilt first if you please." Will was so shocked, he obliged without thinking. Jack gave her a wide eyed look and bolted for the door as soon as the metal touched her hand. She was out after him like a shot … a colorful, battle charged shot.

The two "Sparrows" ran over the lawn, followed by Will, Barton, David, John, and Topher, who had not grasped the situation with Robin. He understood that it was a type of time travel and that she was safe for the moment but he didn't understand why Mrs. Sparrow was trying to kill her husband.

Jack stopped and whirled around on the lawn, parrying her attacks as best he could. Her anger was like a fire, broiling and simmering just below the surface of her skin. In a way, this was Jack Sparrow's most heated battle ever. Her technique was not very difficult to deflect but the force of her furious blows almost staggered him.

"This is your entire fault!" she exclaimed in his face as one of her strikes brought them close. "You told Barton to exclude me from it! I know you did!"

"Trust me," he told her, pushing until their noses almost touched. "I had—CLASH—nothing to—CLANSHE—do with this—CHA-CHANK—at all!" She threw him bodily away from her. He lost his balance for a moment and looked back. She was charging at him, her voice lilting in a bloodcurdling battle cry. He stumbled off, running as fast as he could.

Having longer legs, he could outrun her, but he stopped at a small bridge that crossed a creek. Their blades met in the center. CLASHIIING!

"Die!" she exclaimed, swinging at him furiously. He bent backwards and parried her blow, the steel glancing off his blade with an icy scrape. He counter attacked and she knocked his blade aside almost without thinking about it.

"I did not—" He threw her sword away from her in one dangerous but effective gesture, the blade becoming embedded in the lawn. "Listen, luv. I did not ask him to exclude you." She fell to her knees and hit the plank of the bridge with one small fist. Jack put his sword away and knelt beside her. He caught sight of her face and was chilled. There were tears under her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, afraid to let anyone see them, worst of all, Jack Sparrow.

He felt broken inside to have pushed a girl of her mindset this far and he grabbed her and pulled her to him, not letting her go. He lifted her like a child and she put her arms around his neck, hiding her face in his chest.

Will retrieved his sword and followed them into the house, Jadent and Topher going as well. Barton had stopped at the doorway to watch from a distance and had already retreated to the house. Jack sat on the flowered divan with Ryoko on his lap, her arms still around his neck, and fixed an eye on the vampire. Elizabeth had been revived and was sitting in one of the chairs, Angelique fanning her.

"Well," Jack addressed Barton, supporting Ryoko's back and legs with his arms. She continued to hide her face. "What happened? Why these two?"

Barton shook his head. "I don't know for sure."

"Tell me," Jack ordered. "What do you know, or suspect?"

Barton swallowed. "It may be that eight was too many, but I don't think that's the answer. You, Will, and Barbossa went into their time and brought them back here, which is nine for the first time. We were five the second time and now, eight. I have a few different theories in varying stages of plausibility.

"One; she and the other girl do not truly wish to return and thus, my blood is overrun. Two; the two Oregon women have taken their place, and somehow the power mistook them for these two. Three; they have been altered by this time and are unable to return. Four; they have both been fed upon by me, which is wrong. Five; my blood is not strong enough, which I know is wrong as well. I cannot think of anything else, sir. I do know that both were with _the Pearl _longer than any of the others. Perhaps some aspect of the ship caused them to become … different. Was the curse linked with the ship in any way besides the fact that Barbossa was the Captain?"

Jack shook his head. "No. The ship is clean, or as clean as it could be concerning the Aztec gold. The fog still persists but other than that, the ship is devoid of that monster's filth."

"I understand why I cannot leave," Diana cried, coming down the stairs. Her face was tear stained and her breath coming in ragged gasps. "I will show you. You may or may not have noticed since I came, but I have not eaten anything, nor have I taken any drink. I wish to end my life, yet I cannot. You will see." Diana opened the front door and went to stand outside.

Jack did not stand. He already knew from her words what had happened. Will glanced outside and gasped. Diana stood in the moonlight, her dress in tatters, her flesh rotted away, showing her bones beneath. Diana Cobian was immortal and cursed. Bootstrap whistled in sympathy and brought her back into the house, drying her tears.

"It's all right, dear," he soothed her. "We can release the curse like we did last time. All you have to do is give a little blood to the chest and it'll be all right. Don't cry darlin'."

Diana continued to weep softly and Ryoko looked up. "That answers why she can't leave but why can't I?" She met Jack's eyes, which were still serious.

No one had an answer for her and the night wore on. Jack carried her up to their room and tucked her into the bed, where once alone, she cried until she was empty.

…

They landed on the sidewalk near the Embassy Suites building, the loud traffic scaring them half out of their wits. The CA kids were dressed in 18th century styled clothing, the OR girls in their original clothes.

"Where are we going?" Robin asked loudly.

"Let's go to my house," Lizzy suggested to everyone. "It's the closest and Robin has some of her clothes there. Claudia, you, Ryoko, and Diana can fit into some of my stuff unless Ryoko wants to go to her house. What do you think Ryo—"

The girls looked around. Ryoko wasn't there and neither was Diana.

"Where are they?" Claudia asked.

"Come on," Nick exclaimed, pulling Heather along. "We'll never get anywhere if we stop to panic about them not being here. They aren't in the tree or in the street. Let's just go." He picked up the candlestick and started off for Lizzy's house. The others followed him and soon, they were inside Lizzy's, conveniently vacant house. The dog barked a few times but other than that, there was no trouble.

They were soon dressed in their normal clothing, Nick having borrowed some of Andrew's (Lizzy's brother) clothing. The pants were too short on Nick even though Andrew was 22. Lizzy's whole family was small and Ryoko was often mistaken for her sister.

Lizzy picked up the phone hesitantly and looked at her friends. She punched in a series of numbers and the phone chimed in her ear.

"Hi, is Anita home?"

…

Anita's mother started clucking away in Spanish and Anita came running, taking the phone away. "Hello?"

The voice on the other end made her shriek. "Lizzy! Holy crap! Where have you guys been?"

"Quiet!" one of her brothers commanded from his spot near the TV.

"It's Elizabeth!" she exclaimed. "They're back!" One of her brothers ignored the TV and listened to Anita talk on the phone.

"What do you mean they're still missing? Where—Really? No way! I don't believe any of this. Your house? All right. I'll be there in a few minutes." She hung the phone up and called to her mother. They got in the car and her brother came running.

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business," she spat at him as the car pulled out of the drive. "You were wrong all along and I told you so. How could you doubt them?" She rolled up the window and the car sped off.

He ran inside and debated hitting *69. Oh, hell. It was only a dollar. He did it and the phone rang.

…

The phone was ringing but Lizzy didn't want to pick it up. What if it was her mom? She had been gone for a long time. She took a deep breath and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Who is this? Tell me what's going on!"

"What the—why are you calling here? Isn't Anita coming?"

"Yeah, she's on her way. Is everyone there? All the missing ones?"

"No," Lizzy told him sighing. She knew why he was calling but she didn't want to tell him anything. "Diana and ... Scarlette are still missing."

"Who the hell is Scarlette?"

"Ryoko."

There was silence on the other end. The phone crackled.

"I don't know why she isn't here as well. Sorry."

"Not like I care."

"Then don't ask!" Lizzy exclaimed, hanging up on him. The phone rang again but she ignored it.

Anita arrived and they filled her in on the situation, everyone jumping in where they knew bits and pieces of the story.

Anita was hooked by the end of the night, and even if it wasn't true, it was still more fun than sitting at home and listening to her siblings fight over the remote.

…

The sun slanted in through the windowpane to fall across Ryoko's chest, warming her skin below the gown. She moved in her sleep, her head falling against a strong shoulder. The warm wall at her side moved and pulled her in closer to its warmth and she let it, snuggling against it, molding herself as close as she could get. She knew vaguely where she was, her mind still tormented by the night's disappointment. She opened her eyes and was not the least bit disturbed at being held very closely by Jack. She looked up at him, her face melancholy and his smile warming her mood only slightly.

"It's all right, darlin'," he assured her. "When your friends come back, we'll figure out what happened."

"What if they don't come back," she asked, hating the way her voice sounded. "What if I never get to go back?" A single tear snuck out from the corner of her eye and raced the hand that would hide it to the brink of her cheek. She lost the race and Jack moved to wipe the tear himself.

"You needn't hide that from me," he told her softly. "Would it really be such a bad thing? Staying here, I mean?" He touched her face and she buried head in his shoulder, trembling. He wrapped her in his arms and let her cry, knowing she hated doing it but needed to nonetheless.

She calmed after a bit and lay in his arms, thinking. "No," she said. "It wouldn't be so bad, staying with you. Only, Barton thinks I have been altered by this time too drastically to return." They were both thinking the same thing but neither wished to state it aloud for fear of starting another fight. The Oracle hadn't ever said anything for sure except that she was the right girl, and even that she hadn't really said either.

Ryoko cast a new idea from her mind, automatically deeming it as impossible. Jack, almost simultaneously, thought of the same thing and nurtured the idea for a moment before shoving it from his mind. They looked at each other and both opened their mouth to say something, stopping at the other's interruption and speaking again.

"Never mind," Ryoko whispered. "It's silly."

Jack just blinked and smiled a bit, tracing her nose with a fingertip. "Do you hate me?"

She was surprised at his question. "No. I couldn't hate you."

"You said just yesterday that you _sometimes_ hated me."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "You make me angry, but I don't hate you."

He smiled wider at that. "I think we should get up now, luv. The Turner's will be waiting."

She smiled back and sat up with him. He slid off the bed and dressed quickly. He looked back at her sitting there and put out his hand. She looked at it for a moment and sighed. She stood, taking the hand he offered.

…

Barbossa pulled open the letter from Dante and perused it, holding it at arms length to read what the hunter had written there.

_My Good Captain;_

_I am reluctant to say that Captain Jack Sparrow_

_and his wife Scarlette have evaded my capture. I am_

_also sorry to say that the lovely Belle Watling and Barton James_

_have disappeared. It may be that they were killed by the_

_rising sun, unable to find shelter whilst my comrades and I_

_were stuck in jail but I doubt that._

_We have gained another to our ranks, however._

_Along with the two smutty gents you pressed upon me and_

_the fair Mei Lin, a man who has just come from Port Royal_

_is also after the Sparrow bounty. He and I have joined_

_forces and have managed to persuade a captain of a local_

_schooner to loan us his beautiful ship. Of course, my new_

_companion's persuasive techniques run to the barbaric, but_

_in the end, we got the boat._

_You will be pleased to know that Jack Sparrow is now_

_in Port Royal under the Turner household. I wait in Tortuga_

_for your letter giving me my orders._

_You faithful accomplice,_

_Dante J. Smith._

Barbossa groaned at the letter. He could now enact his plan, but he hadn't expected Dante to want to continue the partnership. He arranged the proper paper and began writing his own letter addressed, not to Tortuga and Dante, but the Port Royal, and Jack Sparrow.

_To Jack Sparrow and his little wench. _

_ You'll want to read this carefully and exactly. My orders of negotiation are as follows. Pursue these, and you'll not be disappointed. _

That sounds good, he thought. He continued writing, adding things he liked, taking things out he didn't need. Soon, he had a letter, full of advice and other things that would suck Jack into his trap like a shark on blood.

He posted the letter that same night, early in the morning, and then, only after it was finished, did he set out to hunt.

…

Elizabeth and Ryoko sat together in the garden with Topher nearby. Ever since Robin had left three days ago, he'd been implored to watch over Mrs. Turner instead. Ryoko, once away from Jack and John, actually found Elizabeth's company satisfying as opposed to nerve wracking.

"Do you see that one?" Elizabeth pointed, the great white bird flying overhead.

"That's an albatross," Ryoko noted. "They're known for their size and weight capacity. A bird that big could make off with Phoenix easily, if he weren't so big." Phoenix, upon hearing his name, stretched in Ryoko's lap, nudging her hand with his little pink nose. She obligingly scratched his head for a while until he purred himself to a blissful sleep again.

Elizabeth was humming a tune she'd heard the quartet playing at the ball and to her surprise, Ryoko joined in, singing both ends of the pitch ranges easily. Elizabeth smiled and complimented her. "You can sing well, can you not?"

Ryoko shrugged. "I like to think so, but I'm not professional. I'm a wild card, someone you call in to fill in. It's the same with instrumental music. I was always the emergency first clarinetist if our first was absent or even the emergency tuba player for a performance, which I was given hardly any notice and had to sight read most of the music." Elizabeth had given her a blank look and Ryoko apologized. "Ignore my rattling. You probably don't understand."

"No, I do," she answered. "In a way. Your friends were speaking of things like that once. From what they were saying, you like to take on a lot of things at once, including this ... thing that you mentioned. A tuba?"

"Forget that," Ryoko told her. "I'm leaving that instrument alone. I can't return and so I needn't think about it, though sometimes I feel like I need to practice. That's what music does to you. When you're away from it for any length of time, you feel the need to pick something up and bring it back."

She began singing softly in a language Elizabeth didn't understand. Her voice was beautiful in a unique, unmatched sort of style in that time, easily conquering the lower range, with which Elizabeth always had a problem.

Bootstrap, out for a stroll, cruised by, attracted by her voice. He smiled and stood before them, talking to them about nonsense things people seem so fond of discussing. The weather for one.

A gunshot ripped the air into shreds, the birds all fleeing with raucous cries. Ryoko stood swiftly and looked over to where the sound had rung. A couple idiots on horseback, filthy from drink and lack of hygiene, were chasing a poor boy around the field. Ryoko squinted and gasped. The boy was Eric. She lifted her skirts and took off at a sprint towards the field, Bootstrap and Elizabeth yelling after her.

"Oh, Bill, please! Go help her! She may be killed!" Bootstrap started after Ryoko, who was beyond all warning. All she saw before her was Eric in danger and her protective instincts flared. The dirt not a foot from Eric's body exploded as a metal ball from the muzzle of the gun tore near him.

She took a running leap and knocked one of the men off his horse, landing painfully on him. She felt a pain in her abdomen but paid it no heed as she raced like a wild woman towards the other man. She kicked up the first man's gun, cocked it in as if she'd been doing it for ages and shouted for the man to stop at once or she'd shoot him. Eric clung to her leg, screaming as only a child can and grasping at her.

"Eric, hush," she told him. The second man stepped down from his horse and walked the rest of the way to her. He was obviously drunk and the filthy hand he reached towards her smelled worse than the pigs outside the pub in town. She had forgotten the gun in the smell and was relieved when the man fell like a sack of potatoes. Bootstrap nodded to her, rubbing his wrist where he'd bludgeoned the man.

"Thank you Bootstr—" she stopped in the middle of her sentence and fell, retching. Eric looked horrified and he began to cry again.

Ryoko vomited in the grass and breathed heavily, tears falling as well. Bootstrap attempted to help her to her feet but she threw him off.

"I'll do it myself," she grunted, getting to her feet weakly. She began to stagger to the house, falling to one knee. Bootstrap pulled her up to him and refused to let her be stubborn. She tried to push him away again and he sighed, lifting her like a child in his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the house, taking her upstairs and tucking her into bed, calling on Estrella and Angelique to take care of her.

He returned to the garden and told Elizabeth to call a doctor. Meanwhile, he left to find Jack. Ryoko had injured herself saving Eric, who now followed Elizabeth as she paced in the hallway.

She had just been feeling better about having Ryoko and Jack in her house when one of them fell ill. She felt terrible and when Doctor Mulligan entered the house, and saw what state she was in, he berated her.

"My dear silly woman, you are with child. You must not work yourself into such a state or you'll drop the brat early. Show me to the other one, no, better yet — Angelique. _Aides moi a la salle de le mademoiselle malade, s'il te plait. Vite_! »

The servant led him to Ryoko's room where she laid in bed with her eyes shut. She had a hand to her temple and gave him a sour glance when he entered the room.

"So," Mulligan stated, giving her a look that seemed to say so much more. "What is your name?" His eyes were blue and bright in an odd intensity and his brown hair was shot with grey. He sat on the bed beside her.

"Scarlette," she told him curtly. He smirked, as if he already didn't believe her. "I'm fine, doc. I just have a headache. Everyone gets sick once in a while."

"Well, that is true, but there is always a reason for it. What did you eat this morning?"

"Nothing that was spoiled," she answered with a glare. "I know better than anyone else you'll question." Being from the future made her a little lofty when it came to medicine in that time.

He narrowed his eyes and another smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if he were fighting the urge to say something else. "I'm sure that's true, Ryoko."

"I have a suggestion," she told him, not noticing that he'd used her real name. "Maybe I was over exerting myself in my fear for Eric's safety. It's happened before. I've just never thrown up after it."

"Hmm," he thought sarcastically. "It's possible. But I doubt it."

She gave him a look that could kill lesser people instantly. "You have another theory?"

"Theory? No, nothing so … ah … theoretical. Are you married?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

He leaned back, hands on his knees. "Don't worry. Your condition is temporary, in a relative standing with say … a certain blood disorder. You have a parasite. It's curable … but recovery can take anywhere from fourteen to eighteen _years_."

Ryoko suddenly looked worried. "Dammit! I knew this would happen! My enzyme bullshit is coming back."

"Wrong." He grinned at her and she felt as if she'd met him before then. "You're pregnant."

She paused for a moment and raised an eyebrow. "Am not."

"Oh, really?" He leaned a little, as if he were stretching, squinting a little. "Seeing as I'm a doctor, trained specifically to deal with _medical_ issues and you're just a woman, trained to deal with … well, you're not really trained to deal with anything … I think my diagnosis will be the one we'll be trusting."

"You don't understand! I am not pregnant! I have a problem already! You have no hope of even discovering it yet!"

"An enzyme deficiency which is now gone," he told her, smiling. She frowned, wondering if he'd spoken to Jack or one of her friends.

"It can't be gone. It's incurable. Whoever you talked to gave you false details."

He made a face at her and she felt like kicking him. "Are you always this know-it-all? No one spoke to me about it. I just know these things. You _don't_ have a blood, bone, or organ disorder, except for the fact that your uterus is harboring a month old parasite."

"Get out," Ryoko told him gruffly. "And if you tell anyone your obviously deluded assumption, I will _hurt_ you, savvy?"

He continued as if she hadn't just threatened him. "I will check up on you once a week for the next few weeks when I come to see Elizabeth's progress. Rest here for a while. Keep this," he placed a wet rag Angelique had brought him. "Oh your forehead, and don't eat anything until dinner, understand? When you do eat, eat sparingly. I'll be back in a week. Don't go chasing the Billington boys anymore. They're bound to remember you and their idea of revenge isn't pretty, especially not to a woman like you. How old are you?"

"Seventeen," she told him. He nodded and closed up his bag.

"Allrighty, Scarlette. Ciao." He stood from the bed and was about to leave the room when he turned back to her "By the way, even if you don't believe me, those things I just told you to do will work just as well for whatever _you_ think is wrong." He left then, muttering to Angelique in French.

After the doctor had left, Bootstrap had returned with Jack who bolted up the stairs at once and attempted to enter the room. Angelique was restraining him as best she could, speaking at him in rapid French.

« _Non, monsieur. Vous ne pouvez pas allez dans la salle maintenent. Madame est malade et vous n'aites pas faisez les bruit quand elle se couche dans la lit. Vous n'inquietez pas de la Madame_. »

"What did she say?" Jack asked Bootstrap. He shrugged and pointed.

"She said, no, sir. You can't go in this room now. She is sick and you are not to be making noises when she's sleeping. You shouldn't worry about her." Estrella, one of Elizabeth's private maids explained.

"What has happened?" Jack asked. Estrella asked Angelique and the French woman continued to speak rapidly.

Bootstrap had already accounted his version of events and Eric, yelping in fear had contributed as well. Mulligan, having missed Sparrow, would have taken a completely different track with Ryoko had the two men met before hand but, luckily or unluckily for her, did not and had not.

Jack had been ready to personally shoot the Billington brothers but Bootstrap reminded him of Norrington's waiver. If he went out and shot the men, he'd find himself in the noose again, which wouldn't benefit anyone. Jack had cooled down enough to wait for Ryoko's assessment of the days events. Meanwhile, he managed to speak with Elizabeth, who had suddenly changed her mind and began holding Ryoko in high esteem, praising Jack for choosing a woman as opposed to a harlot.

That night, after questioning her friends about the strange doctor and coming up fruitless, Ryoko felt too weak to get out of bed and so Elizabeth took the food up to her personally.

She sat with the younger girl while she ate and suddenly spoke up, pouring her heart out to Ryoko for no reason at all. She confessed that she was terrified of things to come though she didn't know what they were.

"You will be there with me," Elizabeth told her. "I know it, and we will make it together."

Ryoko was confused, missing the step where Elizabeth had gone from hating her to adoring her. What had she done? Well, it was nothing she had done intentionally but Elizabeth with her quick intuition knew that Ryoko was closer to her than anyone right then, except for Will, of course. Not even Elizabeth could pinpoint it, but she knew.

Wish, I knew ….

…

Time had changed indefinitely. The kids from the future were still in California and had been so for quite some time. The coolest thing was their parents seemed to have had a severe memory lapse concerning their disappearances, as did their teachers. All the missing students received full marks in everything, and much to Claudia's annoyance, Ryoko was still beating her in French class, regardless that she wasn't there to do any of the work. Ryoko wasn't even enlisted in that school anymore and her name had still made the French rosters. Oh, well.

The girls decided to go back one day. They picked the next Friday as the ideal date and went home to pack. That morning, everyone but Nick met at the gates to the high school, including the two Oregon girls and Anita. They had packed bags full of clothing, womanly products, and anything else they might need. Robin had packed a camera, smart girl that she was.

They grasped the candlestick, each of them touching and they all looked to Robin. She nodded and closed her eyes, touching the blood on the stick. It reacted with her human flesh and the stick sent them back to the past. They landed in the garden and were soaked immediately. Rain was pouring down, the palm trees around the small garden heavy with water, their fronds dropped sadly. Anita began shrieking. She had only half way believed that this was real and now there was no going back.

They ran towards the house as quickly as they could and the door was opened to admit them into the hallway. They were ushered by the servants into the quarters to be dried and taken care of.

From the time they had left to the time they arrived again in the 18th century, it had been a month. Ryoko was well again, though she had shadows under her eyes and was eating differently, Elizabeth was loosing her shape to the child within her, and Eric was getting taller. Anita hugged Ryoko so tightly that she feared she would be crushed. Ever since the day of the chase, she had been quite aware of herself. She knew exactly what was wrong but was stubbornly not telling a soul. She was very curt with Doctor Mulligan even when he threatened to tie her to the bedpost to examine her. Jack had intervened, saying it was her wish to remain alone.

Bootstrap was the only one who had a clue to what was going on in that house. He pulled Jack over one day, making sure that they were alone and he whispered something to him. Jack looked at him as if he were insane and didn't speak to the man for days.

Finally, one night, Jack called to Bootstrap. "Are you sure?"

"Am I ever wrong?" Bill asked him smugly. He became suspicious. "Is there any reason for me to be wrong?"

Jack shook his head. "No, no reason. It's just ... unlikely. A thing by pure chance. One roll of the dice is based purely on fate."

(note to readers; this is _supposed_ to be vague. There is a reason for it.)

"But you—"

"Yes," Jack interrupted. "Have you spoken to her?"

Bootstrap shook his head. "Not I. Elizabeth has tried. Mulligan hasn't gotten anywhere near. I think you're the only one who can talk some sense into that girl. She's stubborn, Jack. A trait you'll find won't be easily sidestepped with her, nor with yourself."

Jack nodded. "Very well. I'll talk to her, if she'll talk to me."

"Exactly," Bootstrap smirked. "Both of you are crazy."

Jack found his opportunity to speak with her later that day. Ryoko was walking around in town, looking here and there at items hung underneath the booths, fruit and other wares stacked expertly on carts. He strode up to her side and joined her without comment. She raised an eyebrow and continued to walk.

Jack had begun to notice that when he entered town he was not so blatantly glared at by officers anymore. Many of them found Ryoko and Jack amiable company once they began to speak to them on civil terms. Most were glad of the lifting of the execution order in Port Royal.

Ryoko did not know what Jack was up to and was rather ready to be rid of him just that moment. She turned and began walking towards the beach, following the line of Fort Charles, her small feet imprinting on the sand. Jack followed, his larger feet crushing her dainty footprints until it looked as if only one person had walked there.

He took her hand rather solicitously and pulled her with him to stand in the shadow of Fort Charles. She shivered and he drew her closer.

"Scarlette, you are not yourself," he told her. She did not look at him but remained obstinately staring at the ground. "Look at me, luv." She didn't even budge and he felt lost at what he was to do. "Please, Ryoko," he tried, using her real name. She looked up at him, her eyes teary. Jack Sparrow, terror of many a ship, could not stand that look. It screamed at him though she was silent.

"You must let Mulligan have a look at you, savvy?" he told her gently. "You're wasting away before my very hands and eyes and it makes me sad to watch you. Lord knows you eat enough and you aren't particularly fragile, though your stature is quite misleading when it comes to that. I had a talk with Bootstrap and I'll be frank, his explanation was quite convincing. I'll need Mulligan's report to be sure and I'm sure you already know. Why you would hide is beyond me."

She looked down at the ground again and Jack pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "I asked you if you hated me and you said "no." Is your answer still the same?"

She nodded against his body. "I know why I couldn't return to the 21st century," she murmured against him, looking up. "Altered by this time. I was irreparably altered but the travel has cured me of other things. My enzymes are not missing or lacking and my bones are not weak as they were in my time. I was cured an incurable disease but the price is staying here.

"I could not hate you, Jack, for nothing is your fault alone. Let us return and upon Mulligan's next visit, I shall allow him to examine me thoroughly."

"And you will be honest when he asks you questions."

She looked up at Jack walking beside her, his hand curved smoothly around her own. "As honestly as I see fit, considering your "plan"."

He looked down at her, his eyes slightly mournful. "I am sorry."

"Don't apologize, Jack," she told him. "You know what's best most of the time, best for you anyway. You're only protecting me and once you're through and have what you want, you'll leave me alone, probably here with Elizabeth to go off on your adventures again, not bothering to ever return. That seems to be all everyone ever does. Use me for what you want and then leave or push me away."

Jack was cut to the quick. Was he like that? He didn't think so, but he could remember a number of occasions when he had done just that, not necessarily with Ryoko, but he had, with a few others. Of course, he was younger then and usually his life was in danger. He _had _scurried out of more than one situation just to avoid certain things, jail mostly.

They arrived at the house as the winds blew in a storm. It was almost December and winter was upon them. _The Pearl _was dry-docking to be safe and his crew were scattered throughout the town and neighboring cays. The sky was a dark gray and deepening with the coming night, though golden windows of sunlight could be seen through at random intervals. The air was thick with moisture and the threat of rain was obvious.

He hadn't let go of Ryoko's hand even though she obviously wanted free of him. He released her and left the house again to fetch the doctor. The sooner he knew for sure what was going on, the better.

He was stopped by Norrington on the way, who gave him a parcel of mail that had come through the Fort for some odd reason. Jack was to take the parcel back to Will's house when he returned and he nodded. Even Norrington was amiable to him lately. He reached the doctor's clinic and found Mulligan sitting across from a man with a rash on his arm.

"Put some of this balm on it. You should see results in a few days. Don't eat the balm and do not put the stuff in your eyes. Oh, and stop screwing with the plants that keep giving you this rash. You wouldn't have this problem if you'd leave them alone. Get the hell out of here. Yes, Mr. Sparrow? How may I help you?"

"My wife will see you now," Jack told him. Mulligan looked down his spectacles at the captain and made a thoughtful noise.

"Aha! The truth comes out. Fortunately, I already _knew _she was married … sort of. Well, will she cooperate?"

"She has promised," Jack answered, scrunching his eyes at the 'sort of' comment. "Which translates into 'almost yes.' I think."

"Sounds about right," Mulligan agreed, packing his physician's bag and putting on his coat. "Off we go, then."

The wind was blowing wildly though the town, the cloud interrupted sunset throwing odd orange bursts of light against the white buildings or manors. They reached the Turner house just as the last of the rays had pierced the skyline with a deep red, painting the walls in brilliant hues. Jack looked back before entering the house and watched the clouds swallow the sun, the red vanishing from the horizon.

Mulligan and Jack went gently up the stairs, Bootstrap, Elizabeth, and everyone else noticing this, waiting in suspense for the news. Bootstrap had not said a word to anyone but Jack himself and would not say anything else.

Mulligan questioned Ryoko thoroughly and she answered everything to his liking, holding Jack's hand throughout. Mulligan put her through a few physical tests and was finally satisfied with her performance.

"I will return in a week, _Mrs_. Sparrow, until then, eat healthily and get plenty of rest. I am _the doctor _after all." He left the room and the house without so much as a glance to anyone. Ryoko and Jack spoke privately and decided that it would be best to leave the enlightenment until the opportune moment. Bootstrap already knew, of course, and Elizabeth suspected, but they would know all in due time.

…

Parrot; Squaaaaawk! Key words! Key words! Squaaaaawk! (craps on some dude's head)

It's okay. I had Subway for lunch! Squaaaaawk!

…

It was not until two days later that Jack thought to ask if he had any mail. The parcel had weighed several pounds and he had been so preoccupied with Ryoko that he hadn't even remembered.

He sat up in bed quietly so as not to rouse her and carefully went down to where the stack of papers had been last. He rummaged through what remained of the pile and procured a letter written quite meticulously in a hand he didn't recognize. It was addressed simply to Jack Sparrow, the envelope not giving much of a clue as to what might be inside. He heard someone coming down and decided the letter could wait. He hastened upstairs and left it on the table in his room.

A few minutes later, he and Ryoko emerged from the room and sat down with everyone else to eat. She never had trouble with that, eating enough to feed several healthy men and hardly gaining weight, though that was debatable.

It was later in the day. Ryoko was sitting in the garden with the rest of the women chatting aimlessly and he felt she was occupied for a while. He climbed the stairs and entered their room. He sat up on the bed and slit open the letter, unfolding the cramped paper.

At first, he thought it a joke but as he continued reading, his blood ran cold, turning his system to a frigid line of pipes and almost immediately afterwards, sending fire through his brain, his anger melting the ice and exploding through him like a tangible line of flame. He threw the letter down angrily and tore from the room.

He called Bootstrap and Will to him. "I'm leaving. I shouldn't be gone more than a month or two. Watch after Scarlette for me. Bootstrap, fill Will in on her … condition, if you will." Without waiting for him to do so, Jack left the scene, striding quickly as he was able. He ran out to where the girls were talking and strode right in amongst them. He lifted Ryoko to her feet and led her a few yards away from the flock of women. They gave the two strange looks but tried their best to ignore them.

"I know this will be difficult for you to understand, but trust me, if you knew the situation, you wouldn't fight me." He gave her all his eye contact. "I'm leaving for a while." He watched her eyes darken. Here came the hard part.

"What? Jack! You can't leave! I—" he put a finger to her lips in the hopes of calming her. She frowned.

"Listen," he said, holding her shoulders. "Something drastic has come up and I need to go and fix it. Savvy? I'll be back before … before anything happens." She gave him a glare worthy of a prize and he swallowed.

"Take me with you. I can handle it, whatever it is. I've always been with you before," she was looking at him with her green eyes full of anger mixed with confusion.

"Yes, you have and I would take you with me except for … certain things that must be given attention." He put a hand to her abdomen. "A ship is no place for a woman."

"But Anamaria is—"

"Anamaria is different," Jack told her, touching the tip of her nose with his finger. "And so are you, but not now, not this time. Please, listen to me, for once. I must leave you. The letter … there is a letter in your room that was sent to me. It will explain everything. You must trust me now, luv. I cannot take you with me." He turned as if to leave but she grabbed his arm and followed, her footsteps frantic.

"But how do I know you aren't just leaving?" she asked him, near tears again. She hated being this emotional. She was never like this normally. He turned to her, his eyes dark and his lips unhappy.

"Luv," he said utterly sincere. "I swear, on pain of death, that I will return. I promise and if I break that, then I be even dirtier than the devil himself, or dealin' with 'im, heaven help me."

"Jack," she asked, her voice steely. "What was in that letter?"

"Go and read it, luv. All will be clear."

"And why won't you just tell me?" She crossed her arms stonily and bit her lip. He smiled but his eyes did not light up with it.

"Because," he answered simply. "I can't."

She was silent for a moment. "You can't."

"Yes." He didn't look at her then and she recognized the expression. She understood that what he meant was that he was emotionally unable to discuss the contents of the letter.

"Okay."

"Okay?" he repeated with surprise. He looked at her then and all he saw was a very tired girl, no, woman.

"I don't want you to go," she whispered. "I ... I hate to admit this, but I am afraid. For once in my life, I am terrified."

Jack hugged her to him. "I promise to return, and when I do, I'll never leave you again." He pulled back from her to look at her face. "Do you believe me?"

"Yes, Jack," she told him. "I believe you, but I don't like it."

He cupped her face. "Trust me, I don't either, luv." He kissed her passionately; not breaking away for the longest time until she thought her lungs would burst for want of air. She grasped his hand as he pulled away, moving along with him for a time.

"Jack, please don't leave," she told him. "It doesn't feel right. Remember last time I said that? You got stabbed in the arm! Don't go! Your mother told me not to let you if it didn't feel right!"

"Yes, well, I think she'll make an exception this time," Jack told her seriously. He pulled her close and took something off his hand, grasping hers. He put something hard and small in her palm.

"Another charm for your necklace," he kissed her quickly and then, like the wind, he was gone. She opened her hand to find his ring, the dark green stoned piece that usually rode on his right index finger. It didn't fit on any of her fingers and, like he said, it went on her necklace along with the skull and the plain tarnished gold ring she'd had since she was young.

She returned to the women and sat back where she had been before, gripping the rings in her tiny fist, biting back tears. Jack Sparrow was leaving, and she was not going with him.

…

The next day, she had decided she wouldn't mope about and set herself to the task of tidying up her room. The only problem with doing so was that in every nook and cranny, she ran into some memory of Jack. The dent in the doorframe where he'd knocked Mulligan's bag from him, the faint scent of gunpowder that permeated the closet, the spider web cracks in the mirror where he'd irately stuck a pen when he found he couldn't draw a parrot. There were so many things within the room that reminded her of him and until he was gone, she hadn't really realized how fond she was of him.

She stopped and asked herself. Was it love? Certainly not. She didn't love anyone anymore and he didn't love her. She was almost certain he didn't love her. She couldn't imagine Jack capable of love any more than she could imagine herself.

She accepted Elizabeth's invitation to sing that day, which she rarely did. Elizabeth was part of a choir of women and they needed someone who could hit tonics and routes without the help of an instrument. Ryoko was used to being the route and so this was easily done. Her heart was not in for singing but she went along anyway and sang beautifully. The real shock came when the man jumped.

He was just a random person from the town. His life must have been pretty bad for him to have committed that gruesome a suicide. He was not too young, barely thirty, his short hair dark, not a sign of grey. He jumped from the parapet on the land side of the fort and hit the ground before the singers, his body throwing up a cloud of dust. Some of the women screamed and others ran but Ryoko had had too much in to short a time span. She fainted, blissfully sinking into unconsciousness before she hit the ground.

Coincidentally, when Elizabeth saw her go down, she lost it as well, falling beside Ryoko, their hair mingling as if they were sisters, hardly a strand able to be told from another.

…

"They are fine, Mr. Turner. No, there wasn't a miscarriage. Don't worry, both will be fine."

Robin, Anita, Lizzy, Claudia, Diana, Kristin, and Heather bombarded Will with questions. "What happened? Where's Jack? Are they dying? Who was that man?" So many questions thrown at him, he put up his hands and went into the room, closing the door behind him.

Ryoko and Elizabeth sat up in their beds and looked at him quizzically. He glanced from face to face and sighed.

"Send one of them in," Elizabeth suggested. "That way they'll get their questions answered."

Through much debate on the other side, Anita was finally sent in to ask the questions.

"Are you dying?" she asked Ryoko. Ryoko looked to Elizabeth for help.

"She is not dying," she answered. "She is like me."

"Which means in about seven to eight more months I'll be wishing I was dying," Ryoko added. Anita's eyes grew wide as she understood. It all made more sense now, how Ryoko ate more than any of them but still seemed to be sick.

"Why is Jack gone?"

"I don't know," Ryoko answered. "I won't until I get that damn letter from my room. I didn't see it when I was cleaning so I'm thinking it might have been kicked under the bed or something. It was important enough though that he had no alternative but to leave."

"But … he left you here," Anita pointed out. "You're his … his wife and you're going to have a kid! It sounds so weird, saying it out loud!"

Ryoko nodded. "Doesn't it seem ironic though? I was always the one who had rumors going around about me and now they're true." Ryoko sighed. "I didn't want it to be true."

Elizabeth looked over. "Dear, how can you not want children?"

Ryoko sighed again. "It's not really the children I don't want. Kids are okay once they're big enough to walk but it's having it that I don't want. I'm not very big." She put a hand to her stomach. "In this time, my stature is a problem. You're tall enough and built big enough through the hips that you won't have any trouble berthing a child but I am like my mother."

"If your mom could do it, I'm sure you can," Anita assured her. Ryoko shook her head.

"In 1986, there were drugs and painkillers. Here, there is nothing of the sort. This life may be my death."

Anita swallowed back her fear and took Ryoko's hand. "If anyone can do it, you can. You've been through some things that would break a weaker person. You had to deal with my stupid brother for a whole year! The others say you shot six men and killed two others and I know you've done other things in our time."

"Some pains are good," Elizabeth told her. "Bearing a child for the man you love is one of them." Ryoko did not laugh or say a word.

She was thinking in her mind. She wished she loved him. She wished she loved at all, wished her heart could be capable of it. It was quite funny that the very thing she had worked so hard to be rid of was what she now wanted. She had conditioned herself to not feel in that way, yet she now was left wanting.

Anita left the room to tell the others what she had learned and Ryoko and Elizabeth drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Ryoko got out of bed, against the doctors orders and left the room, walking down the hall past Jadent's door and into her old room. She rummaged about under the bed and around the window until she had found what she wanted. The letter was written on brown paper and the handwriting was smooth, though many words were misspelled according to what she knew.

She took it back to her room and read quickly, her eyes filling with angry tears. I'll stop evading my readers and show the letter.

_To Jack Sparrow and his little wench. _

_You'll want to read this carefully and exactly. My orders of negotiation are as follows. Pursue these, and you'll not be disappointed. _

_I am now in New Orleans, sitting in a bar, sipping a bit of drink,_

_unable to drink it fully and I have come up with a plan. I am tired _

_of chasing you 'bout the Caribbean and so I've decided to draw you to me._

_There was a paper written bout a month prior to my letter in which a_

_woman was quoted. The subject about which she was questioned was a notorious pyrate, one who had escaped from the navy twice and was sayd to have recently wed._

_I will get to the point in a moment, but I'll state my terms first. _

_One; I want Jack Sparrow to come to New Orleans alone _

_except for Scarlette, if he wishes. He will then disarm himself and board _

_my ship, _The Poison Dragon_. What happens after that is debatable_

_but he is to be unarmed._

_Of course, you know what I mean to do and you may not come_

_at all, save for my collateral. What will I give you in return, eh?_

_Well, let's just say, the woman quoted in that paper's name was Elise. _

_Elise Sparrow, if I am not mistaken, an old bedridden woman living_

_in New Orleans alone save for her catt, who is particularly_

_dangerous to strangers._

_Now, I know that both of you've got brains enough to understand_

_what I just sayd but for lack of better judgment on my part, I'll state_

_it plainly anyway. In exchange for Jack, Elise and Scarlette will be left alone._

_You have my word on it as a gentleman of fortune._

_With that, I must say I'm looking forward to having you, Jack. _

_I'll see you in a few weeks. If you aren't here by the first of the year,_

_I'll take care to make you motherless._

_ Sincerely yours_

_ Captain Hector Barbossa_

Ryoko wanted to crumble the letter up into a tight little ball and burn it to a crisp. Barbossa was using Elise as a ransom to get Jack. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it. She hit herself on the head and groaned. Elizabeth stirred in the next bed and opened her eyes.

She looked over to see Ryoko attempting to get dressed.

"No!" Elizabeth lurched out of bed to stop the smaller woman. "What are you doing? You know you're supposed to stay in bed."

"I can't stay in bed when he's sailing to his death," she snapped, moving away

from Elizabeth. "Barbossa sent a letter. He's holding Jack's mother captive and if Jack doesn't show up before January 1st, he'll kill her. He's going to die, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth covered her mouth. Ryoko continued to slide into the dress when Elizabeth hugged her.

"I'm so sorry, Scarlette," she cried. "I've been so mean to you both. How can I ever redeem myself?"

Ryoko was truly softened at these words. She disentangled herself from Elizabeth. "It's all right. Don't worry about it."

Elizabeth still looked mournful. "If anyone can escape and still win, it's Jack Sparrow. He'll be fine."

Ryoko looked to her and smiled. "One can only hope."

…

The next month wasn't very eventful. There were a few parties that the group attended but life was pretty normal, or as normal as one's life can get for being in the 18th century.

The one thing that Ryoko had to deal with constantly was Jadent. Without Jack's less than intimidating, but still daunting shadow, he was very … inappropriate.

It was on one semi windy day, the sky grey with unshed rain, the trees whipping about in the wind, that he and Ryoko were walking along the shore.

She had a dark cloak over her, only the hems of her burgundy dress showing. The wind sent the dark fabric of it flapping, giving her a sort of surreal winged look. Jadent was dressed in his usual garnished boots, breeches, vest and shirt, a cloak about him as well. His long hair was flowing freely, blowing like a flag of white gold in the wind.

She leaned against the stone structure of the bridge and shivered. She had rarely smiled since Jack had left and still, she looked sad. Jadent sat against the stone next to her and looked at her melancholy face inquisitively.

"You really do miss him, don't you?" Jadent asked her. "I would never have thought Jack Sparrow lucky enough to have a woman like you."

"Are you married, John?" she asked him.

"No, not me."

"Then why are you criticizing Jack? You always seem to do that and trust me, sometimes you are right, but those times are very rare. I do not see how you think that by downsizing my husband in my presence is endearing you to me. I must ask you to stop doing it." Her voice was colder than the wind it cut and her face stayed stony as her eyes watched the horizon.

Jadent was silent for once. Her face had not changed as she said it and he realized that she didn't think very much of him. It boiled his blood to think that any woman didn't think he was great and he knew he'd have to do something to change her mind. He started with what she'd want to hear.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I didn't think it bothered you that much."

She remained silent, watching the water recede to the ocean, the sand so saturated with it that one might sink into it. He touched her arm to get her attention. She turned to him.

"Do you hate me for it?" he asked her, and much to his distress, her eyes filled with tears. Unfortunately, for him, he'd spoken the same words nearly that Jack had when he left and Ryoko couldn't get them from her mind. It brought a new wave of anger and grief and it was by chance that Jadent happened to be there.

He took out his handkerchief and dabbed her eyes with it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. There, there. Don't cry, dear. I'm sorry. I'll cut off my thumbs if you ask it of me."

"No," she said sadly. "It's nothing. Let's go back." They walked back up to the bridge path and ran into Norrington.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Jadent, Mrs. Sparrow," he nodded pleasantly at them, not even looking the least bit hostile towards her. "Are you on your way to the house? Good, I'll accompany you there. I mean to pay Robin a call. Governor Swann's Christmas ball is in but a week and I have not asked her to go yet."

They reached the house and mounted the steps, Jadent opening the door and ushering them in.

"Oh, hello Commodore," Heather greeted. She was hanging some tinsel on the banister of the staircase. "What brings you here?"

"Can I not visit?" he asked, smiling at her. "Where is Robin?"

"Upstairs, I think," Kristin said from the divan. She rose and ran up the staircase. Robin, along with almost the entire female population of the house, minus Elizabeth, came as well.

"Oh, hi James," she greeted.

Norrington bowed shortly and took her hand. "May I speak to you privately?"

"Oh, no," Lizzy exclaimed. "We all know what you're going to say so say it here. Don't be shy."

Norrington blushed a little. "Very well, Miss Talbott, since you are so persuasive. Robin, will you honor me again and allow me to escort you to the Yule ball?"

Everyone giggled and even Ryoko smiled at that. Robin nodded rather reluctantly and Norrington blushed again. "Thank you." Topher stood to the side of the melee and gave a small twitch of thought. The last ball had been why he was employed.

"Damn," Claudia snorted. "It seems everyone has a date but me."

"You could go with Gillette again," Robin laughed. Claudia shook her head.

"Nope, Diana's going with him. Sucks for her, but it's not my problem."

"I don't have a date either," Heather exclaimed from the banister.

Kristin laughed. "I do, ha hah!"

"She's going with Groves," Robin explained to Norrington.

"Well, I'm not complaining," Ryoko pointed out. "I don't think I'll even be going."

"Yeah, well, you're married." Claudia said. "You won't be criticized if you don't have a date."

"I'll go with you," Bootstrap commented. "I may be twice times your age but I don't look it." It was true. He looked like an older version of Will, but not so old as he professed. He was about 42 but looked much younger. The ten years he spent under the curse had rendered him ageless during that time.

"All right," Claudia agreed. "Take that, Robin. Gillette indeed. Yuck." Norrington laughed.

"That still leaves me and Scarlette," Heather said softly.

"I don't want a date," Ryoko spoke sullenly again. "I'm not going to dance anyway. I'll just go with Will and Elizabeth, no problem."

"I'll go with you, Miss Cook," a soft voice, not heard very often, piped up. From behind Robin, came Topher. "I'll be there anyway watching Robin and Mrs. Turner."

"Well," Lizzy said. "That's everyone. I'm going with David so we're all set."

The women went back up stairs and Norrington left. Heather continued putting up the tinsel and Ryoko walked slowly up the stairs. Jadent followed her and stopped her on the third floor.

"Scarlette," he began. "If Jack doesn't return by the time of the ball, will you honor me?"

Ryoko turned to him in surprise. "You mean you don't have a date yet?"

Jadent smiled and shook his head. "There aren't many people I know here."

She scoffed. "I'd think you wouldn't have any problem convincing some strumpet to go with you, Jadent. There are many out there that would think better of your attentions than I, and deserve them more."

"But none so intelligent, or as pretty as you, my dear," he answered truthfully. Ryoko did have a brainy advantage over the rest of the Port Royal women, but she would never have believed that she were prettier.

She smiled painfully, not used to the gesture lately. "If Jack does not return by the time of the Swann's ball, I will go with you."

He smiled graciously and did a half bow. "Thank you, Scarlette."

…

Jack arrived in New Orleans December 19, 1758 in the mid afternoon. Luckily, for him, his face was not known well enough amongst the majority of pirates in Barbossa's existing crew. He had a plan but it would take much preparation and timing to end right. He spied around and confirmed his suspicion. Barbossa was of yet, bluffing. Elise was still in her bungalow, none the wiser, her ornery old cat, Deuteronomy still growling at anyone who happened to pass by the house choked with bougainvillea.

Barbossa was asleep at that time, it being only 3:00, or about there but his human crew were up and about. Jack was sitting in a pub and surveying them. He picked out a few that could possibly fulfill his purpose and then, narrowed them down even more by watching which of them were not cursed. Only two of the five he'd chosen were eating and of those two, only one was perfect. He sent Gibbs over to talk to the man while he waited outside.

A few minutes later, Gibbs returned with the man and the three of them set out.

"Now, you know who I am, right?" Jack asked him. He nodded and shivered.

"Are you going to kill me?" the young man asked. His voice was afraid but already accepting of his fate.

"No," Jack told him. "_I _amnot going to kill you. I am going to take you out and get you very drunk and then we are going to have the greatest party ever before I die. I am taking you because you seemed an impressionable young man. I want a witness from Barbossa's side to be there. When he gets ready to kill me, I want you to be there."

The boy was laughing inside. He was thinking that Jack was a fool who wished the boy to kill Barbossa but he didn't know Jack's mind. The man was a genius when it came to this kind of thing.

And so, the party began aboard _the Pearl_. Everyone got mercilessly drunk, including Jack and the boy and then, Jack took him out into the town, which was dangerous now that Barbossa was up. Barton and Belle were keeping an eye out for him, however.

The two men went all over New Orleans, visiting more pubs than one could count on one hand. Jack, a master actor, was not as drunk as he seemed and when he and the young man performed a duel for old times sake, he "accidentally" cut a few lines on the boy's left arm. He apologized profusely and helped bandage the cuts but other than that event, everything went fine.

A few nights later, Jack felt ready. The boy was already aboard _the Dragon_ and so all Jack had to do was go over and board. He did so, not telling his men where he was going, except for Anamaria, and easily walked onto the plank of _the Dragon_, still sauntering.

"Hello, there Barbossa," Jack greeted, sweeping off his hat and bowing. "You summoned me? Shall we do business?"

Barbossa smiled his yellowed grin and nodded. "So good of you to come, Jack. We'll see if you stay dead this time."

"Wait a minute," Jack said as the boy emerged on the deck. "Die? Me?"

"Why yes, Jack. What did you think we were going to do?" Barbossa asked him. Jack knew very well what they were going to do. He was buying time.

"Well, then. I must be absolutely certain that you will stay true after my demise. Scarlette and my mother are not to be harmed in any way, mentally, physically, or financially, and neither are any of my crew or friends, which include the people of Port Royal and my various acquaintances here in New Orleans."

"Ye have my word and hand on it. I'll not lay a finger or breath on any of the afore mentioned or their properties," Barbossa answered. "Now hand yer weapons off to Grapple there." Jack did so, unhooking his belt and handing everything, his pistol, cutlass, compass and dagger over to Grapple who sneered at him.

"Might I ask you for a favor," Jack piped. "Return these to Scarlette, please."

Barbossa nodded. "I'll do it personally. Ye can trust that I'll not go back on me word." They shook and Jack nodded. Barbossa barked an order and the anchor was weighed, the ship beginning to move. Jack looked a bit worried. This was _not_ part of the plan. He had planned to jump from the ship but once they got into deeper waters, Barbossa's pet sharks would be about and any wound on Jack would attract them. He swallowed in resignation.

About a half an hour later, he was backed up against the gunwales, a pistol pointed at him. He swallowed and began talking again, attempting in futile to waste time.

"I'm havin' a thought here, Barbossa," Jack said, gesticulating persuasively. "How 'bout, instead of me wretched life, which don't mean much to anyone anyhow, you be takin' part of me plunder, eh? Gold spends better than my death does, you know. And, if you kill me, what's to stop Scarlette from killin' you, eh? She's done quite well wif jus' normal pirates … taking on you would be a challenge, but she'd do it … maybe."

"She's a woman, Jack," Barbossa said bluntly. "If you couldn't kill me, what makes ye think she can?"

Jack shrugged. "She knows about your kind. She'll find a way."

Barbossa laughed. "I'm immortal, Jack. Best be rememberin' that b'fore ye be volunteering champions 'gainst me, now quit yer stallin' and hold still. Paddy, hold 'im." The boy moved to Jack and held his shoulder. Jack didn't struggle. His arms were tied in front of him and as he looked back to Barbossa, he took a deep breath of air.

The shot rang loudly, the smoke curling up from the barrel. Jack stared in wonder at the wound on his upper chest. It was not a killing wound, the bullet having torn right through his left shoulder blade, shattering out the back in a spray of red glitter and shine to paint the gunwale with his blood. Jack staggered back a few steps and Barbossa grinned.

"Oh …" Jack gasped. The plan was shot to shit now.

"Let the sharks finish you, Jack," he laughed. "It'll be more painful than anything I can cause you." He moved forward and gave Jack a good jab to the sternum with his gnarled old finger. Jack staggered backwards, gaping like a fish. He fumbled for the man beside him in attempt to get a hold and the man fought him. Jack grabbed him bodily and the two fell overboard, the sea swallowing them both. A few seconds later, the water churned. The crew was all leaning over the edges and jeering as the water frothed with frenzied sharks.

The bubbles became a pinkish color with diluted blood as Jack and the man were torn to bits by the sharks.

Barbossa said a verse over the water and laughed.

"Well, Paddy's fate was regrettable but it's all well when you think about it," Barbossa said. He grabbed another man's pistol and shot into the water, wounding a shark. The other sharks all fell on their companion and Barbossa jumped into a lowered dinghy, pulling the remains of one of the men towards him. He grinned in triumph when he saw the tattoo on the arm of the body. Jack Sparrow, the great captain of _The Black Pearl_, was dead by shark wounds and it was Barbossa what did him in, finally.

He was hoisted back up to the deck, shouting orders all along. "Hoist the anchor, shake out the sails. We return to New Orleans for cargo and crew, and then we pay a courtesy visit to Port Royal. We'll drink well tonight, gents, for Captain Jack Sparrow has finally met the end of his rope."

…

*choke* *sob* How sad! Jack is dead! How could I do that! Here's the worst thing. I finished this chapter on Christmas! Can you stand it? I can, because I got the DVD for one of my gifts and, though he's dead in the story, he's alive and well on the DVD.

Although I still can't figure out how to get the script scanner. Oh well. It's not as if I need it. I've got the entire movie memorized with the possible exception of all Norrington's little lines to the crew, the orders you know?

And the random quote of the night is, "Trotter, Trotter, Trotter." A prize to the

person who can name the film it's from.

**Revisited gossip**

Ah, yes. I remember this chapter. I now have the 2nd movie as well and I'm almost through the analytical stage, most of the lines are memorized, most of the characters studied. I've got to finish the revisited of this so I can finish _my_ sequel, which _will_ include Davy Jones. Notice that Jack and Bootstrap seem to have a secret between them. Knowing what you know now, what could that secret be?

**Revisited 1-16-07**


	15. Chapter XIV : Dreams of Death and Demise

I'm being mobbed! Aahhh! I saw Lord of the Rings (3) today and guess what; I didn't cry! Ha! Although I almost swooned when I saw Legolas in the reunited scene with his little blue outfit and his little cute face! Sorry, I know, I know, this is Pirates of the Caribbean. Personally, I think he's cuter as an elf, but still, no one comes close to Jack Sparrow.

**Chapter XIV – Dreams of Death and Demise**

Ryoko sat up in bed breathing heavily. She had had a dream. She had fallen from a ship into water, which had been predictable but what she'd seen hadn't been. There were sharks all around and, unfortunately for her, there was blood in the water, her own blood.

She had raised her hands to swim and found them bound together. The first of the great fish were swimming towards her, moving its head from side to side, navigating by its nose and the smell of blood that wafted from the wound in her shoulder. Wound? Had her scar re-opened? A shark bumped into her with its nose, sending her panicking. That's what had woken her.

Actually, she turned to find Angelique there, poking her awake. The French woman smiled kindly and set her breakfast on a tray beside the bed. Elizabeth was already up and eating, chatting with Will who was sitting on the edge of her bed. A few minutes later, Ryoko's friends all trooped in to see her, all seven of them. Everyone was dressed in the 18th century style clothing.

"Hey, guys," Ryoko greeted. "What's going on?"

"Nothing really," Lizzy said smiling. "How are you?"

Ryoko gave her the eye. "I'm fine so stop worrying about me."

As Ryoko ate her breakfast, she was shocked to realize how far from her friends she had drifted. She didn't speak like them anymore or dress like them. They still felt uncomfortable in their clothes where she felt normal. She stood when she was finished and began to choose what she would wear. Will left the room and Elizabeth fixed a stern eye one her.

"Scarlette, are you supposed to be out of bed?"

"I'm fine, Elizabeth," she told her. "You're the one who should worry. You're farther along." She slipped into a violet dress and laced her basque. "I'm not going to spend the next six months in bed, thank you very much." Her friends were, very wisely, not making any comment. They knew Ryoko was stubborn enough to mean exactly what she said. They followed her out of the room and down the stairs. It was the 22nd of December. The ball was in three days and she knew Jack wasn't returning by then. She had planned to fake sick and not go to the ball.

That was, until Jadent cornered her and reminded her of her promise. She sighed and nodded. "Very well, then." He smiled and kissed her hand, running off to do whatever he did all day. Ryoko went to sit in the garden with Bootstrap.

They sat and watched the birds fly in the air, which was steadily loosing its summer heat. She kept her eyes straightforward as she spoke. "Do you think he'll ever return?"

"I bet my life on it, lass," he answered. "Jack's a strange man. You should hear what he did in Nassau."

"I'm listening," she said.

"Well, Nassau is a dangerous place for a pirate," Bootstrap began. "Especially for Jack at the time because the law keepers in the area already knew his face. I'm sure you heard about the East India trading company, and Beckett, the blighter."

"I heard about the East India Trading Company, yes, but Jack never mentioned anyone named Beckett."

"Hope, lass, that you never meet him. Cutler Beckett is the King's goon, mercenary scab leader of the East India Trading Company. He hates pirates and the like. In fact, I don't think that man likes anyone. He's the one the Company sends in to secure a certain port for trading or political purposes. Usually, he ends up taking over to port and putting the local leaders at a sort of odd spot, unable to throw him out due to his ties with the King, but not wanting to bend to his rather lack of morals. There were no particular Company issues with this trip to Nassau, but it was a town Jack had been avoiding simply because of that man."

She blinked. "I'll be careful if I ever meet him. What happened elsewise?"

"Well, just that morning in Nassau, Jack had managed to shoot a rather mutinous fellow by name of Moore, curse the man, and left his pistol unloaded, forgetful days those were. He was but a rookie to piracy, but this made his name. He heads into town, to the main square even and gets up on the statue there, hanging from one of its arms and begins shouting.

" '_Now we can do this the hard way, or you can cooperate and make it easy_,' he declares, and the crowd is listening to him ever so intently. '_Throw all yer gems and such down on the dock and no one will get hurt._' Everyone stands there and stares at him, a few of 'em laughing at him even. Someone asks him why they shouldn't just shoot him and he looks, plain as can be over at 'em and says. '_I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy_?' and some of the women gasp and swoon. One of the men comes up and tried to grab him from the statue and he points his gun at him. Jack's gun ain't loaded but the click of the empty thing isn't heard because someone screams when he pulls it out.

"Well, the people start runnin' because they thinks they heard an army comin' and Jack still has his unloaded pistol pointed at the man. The poor bloke blubbers and empties himself right there. The town sends their junk down and we come out of where we be hidin'. The town went and ran because we were screaming on the other side of the walls. It scared the livin' daylights out of them. We pick up the treasure and leave, not a shot fired. Boy, were they mad."

Ryoko smiled lightly. "He never gets caught for good, does he?"

"Nope," Bootstrap agreed. "Not Jack. That man has more cards than the Devil himself."

"Have you met the devil?" It was such an innocent question, but Bootstrap looked at her with cold eyes.

"Close," he answered. "Damn close."

…

Anamaria pointed her pistol at the man boarding the gangplank. He had his hands held in the air and was carefully not making eye contact. _The Pearl _pirates hauled up the gangplank and the man was ushered to the very center of the deck. Everyone was crowded around the deck in suspicion and finally, Anamaria spoke.

"Who the hell are you and why are you here?" she asked him.

"I'm sorry, miss," the man told her in clipped English. "'Bossa sent me. He knows your gonna kill me and so do I."

"Why would we do that?" Gibbs asked, baring teeth over his muttonchops.

"Because of the news I have," the man answered. "Jack is dead."

Everyone was silent and Armstrong started laughing.

"You don't actually expect us to believe that, do you?" he asked incredulously. "Jack Sparrow? Dead? Impossible."

"He is," the man insisted. "'Bossa shot him and then he was eaten by sharks. I haven't got anythin' ta prove it with but I tell ya, it's the truth."

"I don't believe you," Anamaria told him. "But you were right. I am going to kill you, just for saying it." She took aim and shot the man dead, her bullet going right into his head. She smiled, one of the best shots on the ship.

"We'll wait a week," she told the men. "Everything you want to take had better be on the ship by then. If Jack don't show up by then, we'll know if that idiot was bluffing or not."

Barbossa was already on his way to Port Royal. He knew the man would never come back and so as soon as he'd sent him with the message, he commanded his men to sail out. He also knew that the man would get back up and leave, seeing as he was cursed.

He smiled to himself and rubbed his hands together. He would bring in tons of gold and riches and never be caught because he and half his crew were immortal, the other half being human or Chinese, which he considered some sort of non-human. Life was good, death was even better, even if you were a prejudiced bastard like Barbossa.

…

The ballroom was again decorated, the quartet playing, and the dancers moving wildly about, their feet synchronized. Ryoko and Elizabeth sat down immediately while the men conversed. They sipped wine but Ryoko didn't touch it. Maybe in this time they drank while carrying, but she knew better than that. She didn't bother telling Elizabeth because she wouldn't have listened to her.

Several men asked both her and Elizabeth to dance. Elizabeth danced with every one and Ryoko declined every one. Her heart wasn't in it. She did dance with Jadent though when he made to impugn her promise. She noticed that he seemed to flow with the music, gliding across the floor with her, but she did not look into his eyes. She was thinking of other things and when she moved with Jadent, she caught herself wondering if Jack could waltz. She threw it from her mind with a laugh and paid attention to the task at hand.

When she sat down, Jadent promised to return, to which she groaned inwardly. Jadent wasn't bad or mean to her but she did not want to dance anymore. She had stopped feeling nauseous and wasn't eating the house anymore but she still hated dancing.

Robin and Norrington were sitting with her now and they were having a very interesting conversation. Robin was talking about football.

"Well, you see," she was explaining. "There are these really big and fast men who are covered with pads to protect them from injury and they wear helmets and mouthpieces to protect their teeth. They wear shoes with spikes on the ends."

"Cleats," Ryoko added. "They're called cleats."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Robin continued. "They help them run, spikes for traction, you know. They wear identical jerseys so their team knows who's which, kind of like your uniforms, you know, to tell each other apart. They do this squat, throw the ball, and run at each other like buffalo. The object of the game is to get the ball to the ends of the field. Usually, before it gets very far, the man with the ball is tackled, hence, all the padding. It's a sport men like to watch and bet money on."

"Where do you come from again?" Norrington asked her.

"Los Angeles, Downey," she told him. "It's in California."

"Oh," Norrington answered, trying not to act like he didn't know what she was talking about. A man stepped up to their table and spoke up.

"Miss Skiles, would you like to dance?" It was, surprisingly enough, Mr. Topher.

"Of course," Robin answered, standing and nodding her head to Norrington. She took Topher's arm and he led her out onto the floor.

"I heard the news, Mrs. Sparrow," Norrington said, moving his chair closer to be able to speak easier. "I'll be honest with you, I'm glad. Jack seems to have been cured of some of his ways with you around. Why isn't he here?"

"There was a family emergency," she told him. "Jack is in New Orleans right now, clearing up a dispute. He's expected back within a month at least."

"Why did you not go with him, Mrs. Sparrow?"

"You may call me Scarlette, Commodore," she told him.

"Then you may call me James," he answered. He repeated the question.

"You know of my condition, do you not?" He nodded. "Well, Jack felt that a ship was no place for me at the moment. He didn't want to risk my health by bringing me along."

Norrington nodded. "I apologize for locking you in that cell, Scarlette. If I had known you, I would never have presumed to doing such a thing."

"Thank you, James," she said.

Norrington drained his glass and stood, offering his hand to her. She shrugged and took it. He led her onto the floor and didn't mind one bit that he was dancing with a pirate.

As Norrington and Ryoko were dancing, Robin and Topher were on the other side of the great room and, despite his manner, Topher danced smoothly. He was looking Robin in the face and smiling, something he didn't do very often. Robin liked the way it made his eyes shine when he did it. He had worn something less plain for the ball, a deep green frock coat with grey breeches, the frills of his white blouse decorating the front of him like icing on a cake.

She realized she enjoyed the feel of his hand on her waist. He was very handsome, something one might miss if he weren't smiling.

He even spoke to her! '_Be still my heart_,' she thought. '_It speaks_!'

"I always wanted to do this," he said with a boyish taste of wonder in his voice.

"What?" Robin asked him. "Dance with me?"

"Not with you in particular," he told her. "Although this is nice, don't take me wrong, but dancing in general. I was always told to watch the people, sit and be invisible. Tavington isn't here. You aren't in danger, and how much better am I watching you this way? You won't be kidnapped from my arms, you can be assured."

She laughed. "I think I like dancing with you better than Norrington. He just butters me up. I can actually have a conversation with you without having to blush and thank you every five seconds."

Topher laughed. "And I like your sense of humor. I always have. You are very straightforward Miss Skiles."

"How long have you known me?"

"Maybe three months at the most," he answered. "Why?"

"You still call me Miss Skiles. You can call me by my name, you know. I don't suffer many to use the title."

"Very well, Robin," he answered. "To tell you the truth, I don't like to speak much."

"I have noticed," she laughed. "Why are you so shy?"

"Not that I'm shy," he corrected. "I just don't like talking to those who aren't very intelligent. You, Robin, seem to be intelligent."

Robin laughed. "My friends are smart."

"Yes, but they lack a certain ... wit. Some of them are a bit too silly for my liking. Lizzy loves everything with a childlike fervor. Claudia and Diana seem to jest a bit too much, knocking everyone about. The other two girls you seem not to know very well keep to themselves around me mostly. Anita is shy around the men. Scarlette is … very sullen. She misses Jack terribly, even though she never mentions him around me unless someone else brings it up."

"Scarlette is smart," Robin told him. "She has an incredible memory. That's the problem with her sometimes. When something happens to her, she can recall almost every bit of detail and that makes it worse. I'll not go into detail but there are some things in her past that she can't forget that continuously jade her future. I'll tell you right now, there aren't very many that can see this but, she doesn't love him. I don't think he loves her either and I'm wondering what's going on between those two. They're married but neither loves the other. Ryoko, or Scarlette if you like, is not one to wed for lust, though I wouldn't put it past Jack."

"Pardon me, but I think you are wrong," Topher told her. "She may not love him but she cares for him and vice versa. When you were gone, she became ill for a few days, possibly with morning sickness I'd assume. He was worried enough to challenge Angelique, attempting to force past her to get into the room, though she was yelling at him in French. You saw them the night he left when he came and dragged her from your midst. He cares for her as well. I think they may like each other more than they're willing to admit."

Robin shrugged and the song ended. She stayed with Topher as the next song picked up and began dancing again. "You could be right. I don't think she's smiled once since Jack left. She has the habit of liking someone and not telling them about it."

Topher nodded. "A trait usually found in men, not women. Mrs. Sparrow is one of those rare personalities you don't expect to find in women. It's made even more ironic that that particular personality is put into one such as her, petite, pretty, dynamic."

"She doesn't think she's pretty," Robin told him. "I do, but she doesn't listen to anyone when it comes to that. She's still convinced that she looks like a boy because she was always mistaken for one when she was younger, specifically when one of her nannies whacked off all her hair."

A few songs later, they had stopped dancing and sat down again. Norrington and Ryoko were back at the table, talking, about hockey now. He seemed thoroughly interested in sports from their lands.

"I'm not sure I understand this?" he was saying.

"Well, it goes like this," Ryoko told him. "They wear equipment similar to the football guys except their padding and clothing is insulated because this sport is played on ice. They carry these long sticks with them and they hit this little black thing called a puck. The idea is to get the puck into the opposite goal to score points. They use skates, which are shoes with blades on the bottom to allow them to move around the ice. Men also bet on this game but the cool thing about hockey is that one can bet many times in a single game."

"Why is that?" Robin asked. "I only bet once in hockey."

"Obviously you haven't met my buddy, Jose," Ryoko answered knowingly. "He not only bets on the game, but all the separate fights that break out during the game."

"Fights?" Norrington asked shaking his head.

"Opposite sides love to duke it out. No one really gets hurt because of all the padding. Well … I guess that's not true …" Ryoko took a sip of the water she'd asked for instead of wine. "How's it going with you two?"

"We're fine," Robin declared, sitting down again. The night wore on like that and at one point, Will blushingly found himself under the mistletoe with Heather. Heather wore a grin as they left the ballroom. Ryoko stubbornly let everyone pass before she did but Jadent had been waiting for her.

"Oh, come now dear, it's tradition," he implored, pointing upwards at the mistletoe.

"Well, tradition can go shove it," she told him. He grabbed her and pulled her towards him. Ryoko froze, not expecting such violence.

"Why do you treat me so coldly?" he asked her, less playfully than he usually did. Bootstrap was watching from the shadows. He didn't like Jadent either and Jack had mentioned him specifically before he left.

"I treat you coldly because your actions merit that response from me," she notified him. She steeled herself to hurt him if he got any rougher.

"And what if I did kiss you now?"

"You would be wise not to," she answered. "I would have to hit you and of course, Jack would be angry."

"I don't think he's coming back," Jadent said angrily. She grew hot to the touch and he released her. Had she been a man, he would have been expecting the blow but she was so damn not intimidating that he hadn't predicted her actions. Her fist took him across the mouth, staggering him against the doorframe. He could taste blood. He turned back to find Ryoko walking away on Bootstrap's arm.

Jadent rubbed his face and winced. He'd be bruised in the morning and his lower lip was split on the left side. He spit out some of the blood and cringed. Why didn't she slap like normal women? It must be Jack. He tainted her with his roguish nature. Little did Jadent know, she had been like that long before she'd heard of Johnny Depp, let alone Jack Sparrow.

He spit out more of the blood and followed the retreating party of the Turner house.

…

_The Poison Dragon _pulled into Port Royal under cover of darkness and fog. Barbossa got off the ship alone. No one knew him here except the one he was going to see. Everyone else that might recognize him was at the same location so he wasn't worried.

He sauntered down the dingy streets of Port Royal, asking a few people where the Turner house was. One woman directed him and then gave him a bit of blood, not exactly willing on her part. He wiped his mouth and continued walking, his sword and pistol making metallic noises as they clinked against his jacket.

The house rose high above him and he smiled, the stars glinting in his eyes. He walked without any further hesitation up to the door and knocked solidly. It was later in the night so the people were back from the ball. He laughed ironically. He would be giving them horrible news on Christmas.

His knock echoed loudly and eventually the butler opened it. He looked at Barbossa inquisitively. "Yes? May I help you sir?"

"Can you tell Mrs. Sparrow to come to the door? I have a message for her."

"Yes sir. Wait a moment. She may not see you at all. She hasn't been feeling too well lately what with her condition and all."

"Condition?"

"I am not privileged to say sir."

"Oh. I hope it isn't fatal," Barbossa said, and that was partly truth. He wanted the pleasure of killing her, not hearing of some disease stealing her life away. Of course, he promised he wouldn't, and he was a man of his word.

A few minutes later, she came to the door, pallid and slow and he knew what her condition was by looking at her.

"You," she hissed. Her face went from tired to enraged and her eyes flared in the darkness.

…

They had all been sitting in the parlor when the knock came. Everyone was chatting aimlessly and drinking lively. It was again about two in the morning but balls went sometimes longer than that. Bootstrap and Will had jumped up a few minutes earlier to recreate a fight that had broken out between two younger men at the ball, making everyone laugh happily. Ryoko even smiled a little when Will pretended to hit Bootstrap.

The knock rang but they ignored it, leaving it to the butler. When she was called from her seat, everyone hushed themselves, trying to listen, hoping it was Jack. They wanted her to be happier, missing her old personality, the one that would challenge anyone to anything and not bend for anyone with the possible exception of Jack himself.

They cried out in surprise and fear when the gunshot rang out, echoing in the small acceptance hall, the acrid smell of powder reaching their stunned noses. Will, Bootstrap, Norrington, and Topher jumped to their feet and ran out into the hall, returning empty handed, except for Norrington who carried a limp Ryoko and Bootstrap who carried an empty pistol, a dagger, a compass, and a familiar cutlass.

…

"Aye, it be me, Mrs. Sparrow," Barbossa growled. "Were you maybe expectin' the tooth fairy? Santa Clause? Or maybe you were wantin' it to be Jack Sparrow?"

"Why the _hell_ are _you _here?" she snapped at him. "Haven't you done enough? I read your fucking letter, you asshole." She had had plenty of time to simmer and now her anger was pouring out in her language. He seemed unfazed however.

He didn't step into the house and she didn't move towards him but their conversation following seemed to be secluded to just the few feet between them. His breath smelled of death and decay and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. Bloody breath, no pun intended.

"I am here to carry something out," he told her. "A dyin' wish, ye might say."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"I promised not to, dear," he answered. "The thing is, because I am a man of my word, I cannot touch you or Elise or anyone else Jack mentioned."

"Where is he?" she asked in fear. "What have you done to him, you bastard!"

Barbossa grinned, stretching it out. "Trust me, he died fighting. Not fighting me, but those sharks won't forget him too soon, I expect. Surprised they choked him down so readily. I don't imagine the taste of a coward is very pleasing. He told me to bring his affects back to you." Barbossa handed over the cutlass, dagger, compass, and pistol. She stared at them for a moment, grasping what she had just been told. She gripped the sheath of the cutlass in her left hand and growled under her breath.

"Now that that's been settled, I'll be leavin' now," he told her, bowing. "Farewell."

"You son of a bitch, I'll kill you myself," she attempted to unsheathed the sword but her hands were clumsy and she dropped it. She gripped the pistol with both hands and shot him, the bullet tearing into his stomach. He bowed over for a moment but came up laughing. He ran off when the men ran into the hallway and Ryoko stared at the pistol in her hands.

"I should have saved it for me," she said before she collapsed. Norrington, the closest to her, caught her before she fell and hoisted her off the ground. Bootstrap collected the weapons and Will shut the door. They all trooped back into the room and waited for her to wake up. She was checked for wounds but none were found. The wounds were all mental. Meanwhile, Norrington was looking at a small dark box that had dropped near her foot.

"Is this what I think it is?" he asked haltingly. Bootstrap took the box and cursed, dropping it to the floor where it rolled and stopped in front of Robin. She picked it up and gasped as she opened it. It was a compass. When her fingers touched it, the dial turned slowly to one side, then flipped quickly to point downwards towards her.

"This is ... _his _compass. Jack's compass that doesn't point north!"

"Is she all right?" Lizzy asked. Ryoko was lying on the sofa, still unconscious. Jadent had come down the stairs after hearing the shot and was poking his head in the doorway. He came and sat with the rest of them, waiting for an explanation.

A few minutes later, Ryoko came to, sitting up so fast her head hurt, but she didn't care. Jack was dead and she was a widow even before she was married. She couldn't imagine him dead and she bit back tears as the group looked to her for explanation.

"Barbossa was just here," she said.

"Ah, so you shot him," Norrington revealed. "That makes sense."

She was looked from person to person trying desperately not to cry right there where everyone could see her. "He gave me a … message. Jack …." she took a deep breath and closed her eyes against the tears. She could handle this, even as painful as it was. She steeled herself and opened her eyes. "Jack isn't coming back."

The silence was deafening and if ever there was an oxymoron that was true, this was it. She blinked her eyes and found that most of the girls were bleary eyed themselves. Lizzy and Robin, Kristin, Heather and Anita, Claudia controlling herself, Elizabeth staring at the floor in immense concentration, Diana with her eyes shut tightly.

Ryoko stood woozily but steadied herself, gathering Jack's things. She retreated upstairs, followed shortly by the Elizabeths.

The women went back to their rooms and the men stayed below for a bit, all of them shocked. The Williams were choked up in silence; Topher was indifferent but still respectful. Jadent was trying not to look too pleased and Norrington was attempting to keep their minds off it. He himself was angry and a little saddened if not for Jack, for Scarlette's sake, or even more accurately, for her child's sake.

Up in the third floor room, Ryoko was in between Lizzy and Elizabeth and she was shaking with unspilled grief. She bit her lip and held her breath, anything to keep from sobbing her eyes out. She had her eyes tightly closed and her knees drawn up and she was gripping her own flesh so hard she would be bruised the next day.

The girls kept murmuring soothing phrases and other things, touching her comfortingly. Lizzy was crying freely and after a few minutes, Ryoko controlled her managed to swallow the tears that threatened, pulling away, her breathing pained.

"Don't pity me," she whispered. "I can't take it if you pity me. I don't deserve it, anyway."

Eventually, Lizzy went back to her room, leaving the two women alone. Elizabeth looked at Ryoko with a strange wonder. The girl had sat there and fought off tears and was now looking at the cutlass, drawing it a few inches from the sheath. She then looked at the pistol, at the small designs on the butt cap and barrel. There was a face on the handle that looked like a caricature of Poseidon. She put them all down on the nightstand beside her bed and sighed so deeply Elizabeth wanted to cry the tears Ryoko hadn't allowed herself.

Ryoko suddenly had an idea and left the room, returning a moment later with a scrap of paper. It wasn't the letter, but something else that she read aloud.

"_One woman, a leader as well,_

_will be the one, as time will tell._

_The one who leads the one's who sing,_

_ and one as well who wears the ring_

_ upon which death, a face is shown,_

_ with eyes of blood, a gem unknown_

_ When time has called, she'll be the one,_

_ who keeps your name and sees the sun._"

It was the paper the Oracle had spoken but Ryoko had been the one who'd written it. She took out a pen and crossed out the word _sun_ and replaced it with _son_. When this was done, Elizabeth understood a bit better. She had heard a smidgeon of the prophecy theory but didn't really know what was going on.

Ryoko folded the paper and put it back in the compass, where it had originally ridden from the cave. She then got undressed and slipped under the covers, falling into a restless sleep troubled by dreams.

…

She was in the water again, and there was someone else with her, a face she didn't know. They had a dagger on their belt. She used it to break the bonds around her wrists, pulling quickly. The ropes severed and the dagger popped free of the man's sash. It slowly sank. She grabbed it before it could get out of range but another of the sharks brushed her, sending her reeling. They could smell the blood and it was maddening.

But when she turned to look at the sharks, she saw only blackness and from it came the rotted pirates' skeletons. Jack was standing in the center of them, alive and whole, his dark skin shining from some unseen light. The pirates turned, cutlasses drawn and moved in towards him.

"No!" she cried, running towards them. She darted into the circle, brushing past the skeletons and stood in front of him. They came anyways, stabbing through her, the blades going straight through her flesh as if she were nothing but a ghost, an apparition with no substance. They stopped at the body behind her and she turned to see Jack dying, blood welling up from his mouth, staining his lips a morbid red. She went to hold him up but he fell right through her to die on the black ground. She screamed for him, cried, and thrashed herself awake, the light of her room blinding after the dark dream.

There was a hand on her forehead and she stared blindly up at Angelique.

« _Vous aites un rève mauvais? Vous criez pour Monsieur Jaques_. »

« _Ah. Je suis desolée, Angelique. _»

« _Vous n'etes pas desolée. Je suis desolee pour je sais quoi il est mort hier soir_. »

« _Pas d'hier soir. J'ai entedu hier soir de son mort._ »

« _Vous se manque _? »

« _Bien sur ! Je se manque beaucoup_! » She was becoming angry now. Angelique's questions were annoying at best. She had brought up Jack and then asked stupid questions. Ryoko was not in the mood to suffer the French maid. She sent her from the room and covered her head with the blankets, returning to sleep.

Something she'd been trying to decide ever since she learned about the child was decided without her consent, not by her mind, but by her heart and she was lucky she was asleep when her heart made the decision, or she may have burst into tears once again.

…

The fishermen pulled the body up out of the sea and surveyed the remains. The arms were still intact as was most of the torso but not much else. One arm was scarred in a lattice type pattern, the dark skin rendered pale by the scars, the other with a fresh looking tattoo of a bird flying over water. One of them men poked at the tattoo.

"Well, he ain't had that for very long. It's still rough in places."

"Probably got it in town at that new place. Got somethin' to show his sweetheart when he gets back, except, he been eaten by sharks. He ain't goin' back."

"He's a rookie! Look! There ain't even any scars on his chest. He must have been a pirate. Only one of their kind would be dumb enough ta get eaten by a shark near here. Too bad the head's gone, we mighta known who it be."

"Don't that bloke have a tattoo like that? What's his name Johnny Eagle or somethin' like that?"

"Jack Sparrow?"

"Yeah, him."

"Yeah, I'd say. But this ain't him."

"Why's that?"

"He ain't dumb enough to be eaten by a shark neither."

They towed in their line and headed back to shore, dumping the body on the dock to be taken somewhere proper, the identity of it still unknown.

…

The week passed and then another week passed but Anamaria never gave the order to sail out. She was still waiting loyally by the helm, watching for Captain Jack Sparrow to come sauntering up that gangplank to take the helm from her with a smirk and give all the orders. As much as Captain Anamaria Johnson sounded good, she didn't want to gain it because of Jack's demise.

Finally, two and a half weeks after they had been given the news and the body had gotten up and walked away, Gibbs came to her and spoke solemnly. "Now Anamaria, we've got to stick to the code. I think we both know he's not comin' back after this long."

Anamaria nodded. "I know you are right but I can't help but think that as soon as we sail out, he's going to come 'round that corner and wonder where we've gone off to."

Gibbs shook his head and sighed. "This is foolishness. Jack knew he was sailing to his death and he still did it, thinkin' he could get out of it like he always has, but not this time. Ol' Jack Sparrow finally met his match. Poor devil. Plus, we've got to return to Port Royal. Scarlette's there, an'—"

"I know," Anamaria cut him off. "I know."

"I'm sorry …." Gibbs wasn't sure now what to say.

Anamaria nodded and straightened up. "Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails! Secure the hatches and bring up the plank! We set sail in two hours. Make sure everything is on board. Any man still on land after that time will be left behind."

Gibbs nodded sullenly and went to command the sailors. Everyone knew that Jack was dead and they were glad that Anamaria had finally accepted it as well. Their first stop was likely to be Port Royal. Within two hours, everyone and everything was accounted for and Anamaria addressed the crew.

"Now, I suppose we must act as if Jack is not comin' back." She looked at each of them in turn, her sloe eyes roving the crew. "And as pirates, we need to elect a new Captain. I will not just take this title unless you want it. I nominate Gibbs as well."

The crew looked a little wary. Gibbs stepped up beside her.

"If anyone else wishes to be included, best be steppin' up here or makin' a nomination." A dark skinned sailor that had come from far East stepped up. His name was Leech and he'd been with the crew for a few months.

Anamaria shouted out. "A'right! All fer Gibbs, say aye;" she repeated the syllable and listened as the crew spouted out a few ayes. Gibbs smiled and shook his head.

"All fer Leech, say aye," he did not echo, and only two men spoke out for Leech. Leech looked a tad crestfallen, but he was brave enough to call out afterwards.

"All for Anamaria," his Indian accent rang on the air and the men gave a cry. Anamaria had been chosen as the new captain, regardless that she was a woman. She nodded and spoke her orders to Gibbs who shouted them to the crew.

_The Pearl _broke tide and left port under new command. Captain Anamaria looked at the horizon as she held the helm and one tear fell from her eye to paint the deck at her feet.

…

Ryoko awoke to Estrella who had just attended Elizabeth. The maid had a bundle of flowers in her hands and she handed it to her.

"What's this?" she asked. Estrella smiled.

"I am not allowed to say who they're from, Mrs. Sparrow," she finished her duties and left the room, Ryoko looking at the flowers incredulously.

"It must be condolence flowers," Elizabeth suggested.

"Maybe," Ryoko growled. She didn't want to get up. She wanted to stay in that bed forever and just sleep. Sleep took things away like pain and grief. Except when she dreamed, like she had the last night. She shivered when she thought about it and pulled the covers tighter.

She was supposed to be dressing in mourning clothes, black dresses buttoned up to her neck with veils down to her feet and gloves to hide her hands. The maids had already fitted her for the garments rather than dye the ones she already had. They had brought in a corset to fit her and she'd adamantly refused, telling them that they'd just have to fit the dresses bigger. She knew things these fools didn't, about how most women didn't live through childbirth. One such reason was the corset. The blasted things would alter a woman's anatomy, making childbirth difficult and if she were to wear one while pregnant … she didn't want to know what might happen.

So the corset was a no, and she made sure Elizabeth didn't wear one either. She was easily convinced, probably thinking that Ryoko wanted them to both be the same, not wanting Elizabeth to seem slimmer. She complied in light of the recent news and probably would have shaved bald if Ryoko had asked it of her.

There wasn't much of a funeral. On New Years, Will and the gang took a boat out to sea a few miles and dropped flowers into the ocean. Ryoko was holding the emerald in her hand and rubbing it with her thumb, feeling slightly guilty. It had been meant for his wife, not her, and it was a bit her fault that Jack had never had one. If he hadn't been running around protecting her from pirates, vampires, and gypsies, he might have found someone, but now he was dead, and she was all he'd found. She hated the feeling and debated throwing the emerald into the sea along with the flowers, but decided against it.

In the weeks following, Ryoko continued to receive flowers from the unknown person. Some days they were lilies, some days lilacs, and even roses sometimes. She was getting curious as to the senders identity but not curious enough to ask around.

She was not the only one grieving. Jadent had been in an unusually foul mood lately. He had received a letter that his estate in London was sunk so far in debt that he needed a miracle to pull it back out. The news of Jack's death had given him that miracle, if only he could pull it off. Jack Sparrow was filthy rich and in his death, that money had all gone to Ryoko and to the child that wasn't even born yet. If it could be gotten from the Isla de Muerta, that was.

Jadent rubbed his hands together, formulating a plan. He was the one who continued to send flowers, hoping she would get curious enough to come and find out who he was. He intended to act his little heart out, pretending to be smitten with her in the hopes she would marry him. Once this was done, he could subtly filter some of her money out to London and save his lands. He had no doubts that he could lure her in, the overconfident bastard. He also had no sense of sympathy. Her "husband" had just died and he was already plotting against him for the money.

What a bastard, but some people would do anything to save themselves.

…

The flowers kept coming and Ryoko was finally getting annoyed enough to ask Will to look into it. Will, clever tracker that he is, found out on the second day of his search. Lizzy had just turned eighteen on January 2nd and Will remembered Jadent giving her flowers. He also knew that Jadent seemed to disappear every day for about an hour at almost the exact same time. He followed him one morning and found him at the flower stand.

Will, knowing Jadent hated to have his cover blown, ducked into his old mentor's smithy and waited until his wife's cousin had passed. He then followed him at a far enough distance until Jadent returned home. Will ran up the porch steps and waited a few hours before speaking to Ryoko.

"It's Jadent," Will told her, sitting beside her in the garden. She had been sketching the flowers and she put the pad down and looked at him.

"Why is Jadent sending me flowers?" she asked. "Is he mocking me?"

Will shrugged. "I followed him and he went straight to the flower stand. The man nodded like he knew him and then he came right back."

"What did he get today, just for comparison sake?" she asked dully.

"Orchids," Will answered. She nodded.

"Those are the ones," she said. "I wonder why, though. I don't want flowers every stinking day or even at all! Why can't he leave me alone?"

Will shook his head and shrugged. "Would you like me to speak to him?"

"No," she answered. "I'll do it." And she got up immediately, rolled the pages of her pad back to front and started up towards the house, Will following.

She marched straight up the stairs to the third floor and wrenched open his door without knocking. He was lying on his bed, reading a book, his legs crossed at the ankles. He put the book down and looked at her, smiling a little. Will stayed outside the door, out of sight. He would come to her rescue should she need it.

"And why do you grace me with this unscheduled visit?" he asked pompously. She scowled.

"Why do you keep sending me flowers?" she asked him, straight to the point. There would be no beating around the bush for her.

His eyes widened for a moment but then he regained control. He stood from the bed, his long legs made to seem even longer by the boots he wore. He walked over and shut the door, giving them more privacy.

"Why have I been sending flowers?" he repeated her question. "Are they bothersome?"

"Yes, I'd say they are," she told him. "I feel as though you are mocking me. And if you're going to send flowers, at least wait for the first batch to die. If I keep having to toss out perfectly healthy looking blooms, I'm not going to be happy."

He bowed and sat on the bed again. "I am truly sorry. I will not send them anymore. It's just that …." now it was time for the show. "I tried to control myself, I really did, but I just couldn't help it. My dear, I sent those flowers because … well, because I am in love with you. Completely, entirely, irreversibly, smitten."

She didn't say anything for a moment and he feared she was about to faint again. Far from it. She was thinking about his sincerity. He was not as good of actor as he thought himself to be and she could see that he was either overly extravagant normally, or he was putting on a show.

She went to leave but he stood swiftly, turning her to face him. "You don't believe me," he said. She didn't answer but tried to get away from him. He grabbed her wrists and held her still. She looked up at him, her green eyes wide. He smiled and kissed her lightly on the forehead. She stopped struggling and just stared at him, her slanted eyes catlike.

"I don't expect you to believe me dear," he told her. "But I would like very much if you'd marry me. I know you're still in mourning and I'll wait as long as you'd like but please, say yes. I think I will simply die if you refuse me."

He let go of her wrist and she opened the door without looking at him. He let her go and before she closed it again, she spoke.

"Jadent, I am flattered but I cannot answer you at this time. I hope you will understand. Goodbye." She shut the door and looked at Will. His face was angry, outraged. She nodded and they went downstairs together to speak to Bootstrap. Jadent listened to her fading footsteps and sat down again, wondering who had been with her, taking up his book. He felt that the encounter had been a success. She hadn't flat out refused him.

…

Dinner that night was uneventful. Ryoko had taken to sitting across from Will next to Elizabeth and she had asked Bootstrap to sit on her other side so that Jadent could not. She had told only him about the proposal and asked him for advice. Will had been there as well and the three of them felt that Jadent was not as sincere as he tried to appear.

"He's a shifty one, I'd say," Bill had advised. "I wouldn't give him two minutes of my life, let alone the rest of it."

"Sounds good to me," Ryoko agreed. "I hardly even like him as a friend anymore. He's just … arrogant and he seems to think that he's better than everyone else is. I can't even begin to guess why he would ask me to marry him. I don't believe him for a minute when he says he loves me."

An idea came to Bootstrap. "I'll look into it. Maybe there's something we don't know about ol' Jadent. Meanwhile, we've got to go eat."

…

_The Pearl _docked the next day and Ryoko was called for. She made her way down to the shore with Bootstrap and they boarded _the Pearl_.

The crew regarded her with silence and Anamaria and Gibbs moved up to her, their eyes downcast. She surprised them by speaking.

"I know why you are here," she said softly. "I have been informed of Jack's death. I assume Anamaria has taken over as Captain?" the woman nodded sadly. Ryoko walked over to her and smiled.

"You will do fine," she told Anamaria. "If Jack placed you in second command, he had faith in you. Not to mention, the crew sees favor in you."

"I think Bootstrap should take it," she answered. "He was to be First Mate but he decided to stay here."

"Oh, no," Bootstrap waved a dismissive hand, backing up a step. "I'll not take the title Captain. Barbossa would be all over this ship if he heard the name Captain Bootstrap Bill Turner. Captain Anamaria Johnson calls for less trouble. I'll not sail anyway. I … I don't feel safe at sea anymore."

"He shouldn't attack you even if your name calls for it," Ryoko said angrily. "He vowed not to."

"How do you know this?" Gibbs asked. She turned to him, her eyes full of vague dispute.

"The reason I know of Jack's demise is because Barbossa paid a visit a few weeks ago and told me personally. He also gave me Jack's things."

The crew was silent. Gibbs could have kicked himself. He hadn't thought that Barbossa would have gone to Port Royal.

"Were you hurt?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I think one of Jack's final wishes was that none of us were to be harmed," she told him. "That would have included the crew and everyone under the Turner household. Barbossa said he was a man of his word and I believe he'll leave everyone alone now that he's killed Jack." She was amazed even at herself for speaking so absently of him.

Gibbs cursed and shook his head. "Well, you be the widow. What be yer suggestions fer the time bein'?"

"I think you should stay awhile," Ryoko told him. "There are others bound to want to know of Jack's death but until we make a list, we won't be able to notify everyone. My thoughts are to stay here for awhile and then head over to Tortuga. Rumors fly faster than ships. Odds are, the world will know before any of us leave port."

"You speak as if you're part of the crew," Gibbs pointed out. Ryoko grinned.

"You don't think I'm going to be left behind, do you?" she asked. "Jack wouldn't take me with him, but once I'm well, I intend to be along for the ride, savvy?"

Gibbs smiled at that. "He's certainly rubbed off on you. Ain't a man alive that can emulate Jack Sparrow. I figure he'd have laughed at that."

Ryoko smiled for the first time in a while. It felt nice to be here with the crew instead of in the house surrounded by piteous women and quiet men. Eventually, she and Bootstrap returned to the house, skirting Jadent's pleading eyes. Dinner was served and then, Ryoko alone, retired to bed early.

Of course, the dream returned. Each time, she swam a bit farther, got bumped by a few more sharks but this time, she knew what she was doing even though she had no control of her body. She had figured out that it wasn't her body. She looked at the hands and clothing and realized it was Jack she was seeing. She, or he, was bleeding from a wound in the shoulder, near to where her scar was.

The hands grabbed the dagger and used it to break the bonds like before, retrieving it once again before it sank. They gripped it and plunged it into the other person, ripping a large hole along the stomach and chest. The sharks went even wilder in the water, tearing at the other body.

The dream continued and Ryoko did not scream. Her heart was filled with hope. She woke, her eyes flapping open to the sunny room. She immediately got out of bed, padded to the other room, and dressed quickly, not in her dresses, but in Jack's clothing. She managed all this without waking Elizabeth, and headed out to the docks. Bootstrap followed her as usual and both boarded _the Pearl _once again. The crew came out to greet her and asked why she was smiling so widely. Her attire pleased them and she felt better for it.

"Jack isn't dead," she announced, so sure of herself that no one dared question her.

"How do you figure that?" Gibbs asked suspiciously, looking at her garb. The look suited her better now than it had before.

She continued smiling sagely. "I had a dream. He didn't die! He got away."

"A dream is a dream," Anamaria told her sadly. "I don't mean to get everyone down but how do we know by just a dream."

Ryoko sighed. "I know you may be right, but I'd rather believe it. It will give me hope." She looked up to the cabin, the door still shut, only the Captain able to open it. She suddenly became interested in that door. She ran up and opened it. Everything was as it had been. She closed it and faced the crew again, an incredulous smile plastered to her face.

"Anamaria? You are the captain, correct?" the woman nodded. "Can you open that door?"

"To tell you the truth," Anamaria admitted. "I haven't tried." She mounted the steps and grabbed a hold of the knob. She swallowed nervously. Everyone's eyes were on her. She turned the knob and pushed. The door stayed shut, not opening for her. Ryoko cheered.

"He _is_ alive! Only the captain of the ship can open that door! If he were dead, that door would open for you, but he isn't! Oh, he's alive somewhere! I know it! Hah!"

Anamaria looked at the excited woman and wanted to believe her. She looked to the horizon and wondered if Jack were alive, thinking of how he would make his return.

Well, after this little enlightenment, the crew was torn. Half of them continued to call Anamaria Captain, half simply called her Anamaria or Quartermaster. Ryoko and Bootstrap returned and Ryoko told her opinion to the household, also splitting them. Will, Lizzy, Kristin, Diana, Heather, Anita, and Bootstrap agreed with her. The rest if them stayed neutral at best, Jadent being the only one to vocalize his opinion.

"Listen, you slack jawed, monkey turd idiot!" Bootstrap exclaimed, getting a screech from Jack the monkey. He grabbed Jadent by the collar, roughly pulling him to his feet. "I'll have no more words from you against Jack, you hear? I'll tie you to _the_ _Pearl_'s bowsprit and sail to Calcutta with you abow, mark my words. And stop pesterin' Scarlette." He tossed Jadent with an angry shove back into his seat, the pale man even more pallid with his anger. He turned to Elizabeth.

"Cousin! Are you going to allow this dirty man to speak to me in that way?" He had begun with her familial title, perhaps reminding her that he was her relation. Will stood then, his sword drawn.

"Speak of _my father _in such a manner again and we will duel, John Jadent."

Jadent whipped out his own sword and the two glared at each other. Ryoko and Elizabeth jumped to their feet then, Elizabeth looking worriedly between the two men, Ryoko angrier than a wet cat.

"Jadent! Sit down right now! Will, ease up." She stepped between them. Will backed away and went to Elizabeth, sheathing his blade. Jadent was still on edge and had not obeyed the girl's loud words. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Challenge Will and it isn't him you'll be fighting," she snapped. He looked at her as if she were mad.

"You'd fight me? But that's preposterous. You're a woman, and with child, no less."

"That I would fight you is not the ridiculous thing, Jadent. Any man that would duel a pregnant woman would be socially scraped from all the minds you seek to impress with your money and your blood."

He looked down at her from a lofty height and finally returned his blade and sat in a snit.

That night, all the women were up in the same room, the third floor room with Elizabeth and Ryoko. It was a sort of sleepover in a way. Ryoko was happy again, truly believing Jack to still be alive, not doubting it for a minute. Her enthusiasm was contagious and soon everyone in the room was happily discussing everything from food to decorations of things. They talked on into the early morning where they all finally fell asleep.

…

Meanwhile, down in the harbor, a schooner docked. Five people got off the schooner and quietly moved to the town. These five people were the assassin gang. They didn't know that Jack was dead yet but they were willing to find out. They rented three rooms in one of the local taverns, a place called The Catt and Fiddle. It was the closest one to the shore they could find, other such pubs and taverns in Port Royal being The Green Dragon, The Sign of the Mermaid, and The Sugar Loaf.

Three rooms for five people? Yes, the arrangements went like so. Tavington got his own room because he and Dante were paying for the rooms, Dante and Mei Lin shared the second, Ragetti and Pintel got the last one. There wasn't a quarrel over the arrangements. Though Ragetti and Pintel hadn't known a woman, probably ever, they didn't even approach Mei Lin because she'd already given Ragetti a black eye for catching her in the bath. It had been an accident and he had apologized profusely but Mei Lin hit him anyway.

They learned that Jack Sparrow had left Port Royal quite some time ago but Scarlette was still there, living in Will Turner's house. Dante and Tavington wasted no time at all. With Mei Lin's help, they ran off to Will's house and easily got past the gate.

She and Tavington began to climb the trellis, or the newest one, which extended to the third floor. Mei Lin opened the window and she and Tavington fell into the empty room where Ryoko and Jack used to sleep. Dante, who was afraid of heights, joined them a few moments later, shaking furiously with his phobia. Mei Lin tiptoed down the hall, peeking in rooms, going past Jadent's room and into Will's, which was not what they were looking for. She cracked open the room that held the "slumber party" and glanced around. She couldn't see very well in the dark but she knew that at least one of them had to be the ghost woman.

She stole back to the empty room and told Dante what she had found. He then told Tavington. "Are we still going through with this?"

Tavington grinned. "Of course we are. Don't you want to get the money? Jack may be out of the picture but his woman'll still fetch a fine price." Little did the bunglers know, there was no bounty at all anymore. Norrington had not only lifted it from Port Royal, but from everywhere. There was no price on either of the Sparrows now unless you counted the EITC's contracts, and the assassin gang were unwilling to trade with the Company. Their chairman had prices on a few of them as well.

The three of them snuck into the room, stepping carefully over the women, not wanting to wake any of them up for fear of attack. Tavington hesitated over Elizabeth but brushed her from his mind when Dante tapped him. Ryoko was sleeping on her side under the covers, her knees drawn halfway up towards her chest. She was still wearing men's clothing. Tavington picked her up gently and threw her over his shoulder with no difficulty. He himself had barely seen her once but Mei Lin could verify. They moved quickly from the room but Dante sneezed loudly.

As soon as he heard it, Tavington sprinted for the empty room, Ryoko waking on his shoulder. She immediately began fighting him, which was a difficult thing to bear while climbing down a trellis. She shouted loudly, almost deafening him. Mei Lin lighted beside them at the bottom of the trellis and Ryoko frightened her. The girl was a bundle of fast moving arms and legs. She caught Tavington in the chest and he grunted. The doors flew open and Will came charging out. Dante was still stuck in the upper floors, held by Topher and Bootstrap. Will didn't risk pulling out his weapons and throwing them for fear of hitting Scarlette, who was fighting Tavington with all her strength at the moment. Tavington was left to dragging her along as she dropped her weight.

Will didn't see Mei Lin until it was too late. She slammed into him from the side, taking him to the ground. He got up quickly but was no match for the martial artist. She kicked him down again and this time, he stayed down, still alive but unconscious.

"Son of a bitch!" Ryoko was shouting. She used Tavington's arms on her wrists as leverage and pulled herself up. She kicked him in the groin area but didn't hit him where she'd wanted to strike. Glancing blows hurt enough, however. He dropped her completely and she started running for the stables, hoping there was someone inside that could help her.

Tavington was much faster than she was, and he had the advantages of shoes, longer legs, being male, and that he wasn't pregnant.

He whistled and the horse came cantering, allowing him to swing himself up to it. He kicked the animal's sides and turned it in the direction he wanted. Tavington was a strong man and grabbing Ryoko and swinging her up to him was not hard. The hard thing was keeping her there. She was a feisty little woman and she bit him several times before he hit her with his gun, knocking her out cold, the small gash above her right eye filling with blood. He swung the horse back and Mei Lin jumped on as well. A gunshot tore up the ground near them, making the horse jump wildly. Tavington spurred it on and it fled the grounds, leaving Jadent to shoot at nothing but the shadow of the fleeing horse.

…

Dante was tied to a chair and he was still unconscious. Bootstrap and Topher stood in the room, waiting for him to come to. Topher, a Company mercenary under retainer to the Port Royal Navy, cracked his knuckles and Bootstrap grinned. This was going to be both fun and rewarding. Dante woke with a start, sputtering in German for a moment. He looked around wildly and focused on the men before him.

"Oh, shit," he cursed.

"Are you going to tell us where he's taken her?" Topher asked quietly.

"Or are we going to have to persuade you?" Bootstrap asked practically, glancing over at the table, which held all manner of weapons. Dante gulped.

"I am not a strong man," he said sullenly. "I will tell you where he was staying last I knew."

"Well, that was easy," Bootstrap grunted. "It was kind of disappointing, if you ask me. I think we'll keep you here until we've got Scarlette back, that way, if you're lying, we can always get you later." Dante gulped again.

"The Catt and Fiddle," he shouted. "That's where we checked in when we landed. I don't know if he's got her anywhere else, I swear!"

"I think he's telling the truth," Topher added. Dante nodded profusely and Bootstrap grimaced at him.

"Can we torture him anyway?"

"Oh, God!"

Topher laughed. "No. It's against the rules."

"Well, on we go, then," Bootstrap said, not trying to mask his disappointment. "Tell Will when he wakes up that I'll be back. I'm going to grab some of the crew as well. Damn you law abiding types and your rules."

And then he was gone, leaving the room to Topher and Dante. Dante looked up at Topher and smiled nervously. Topher looked down his nose at the man and grinned, hand hovering near a wicked looking dagger at his belt.

Dante swallowed and prayed.

…

Tavington was not stupid. He knew taking Ryoko to the inn would be the end of him so he took her to the schooner. Pintel, Ragetti, and Mei Lin followed shortly. She didn't want to leave without Dante and so Tavington decided to hold until he could be rescued. He wanted to head out to Charleston after he collected the reward that didn't exist anymore.

He locked her in the cabin of the schooner, which was a mistake on his part. As soon as she woke, she armed herself and sat in front of the door, ready to kill whatever came through it. She tried shooting the lock off but only succeeded in blowing a hole in the door. The moment she did, she saw Pintel through the hole, sighting down his own pistol at her. She threw herself to the ground behind the bed and the shot roared over her head to shatter the mirror, sending a shower of glass down on her.

He continued shooting, stopping after every shot to reload. Ragetti would shoot in between, both of them filling the room with lead bullets. Luckily for her, they couldn't see her and didn't know where she was. Every few minutes, they would stop their barrage and she would poke her head over the bed and shoot at the door. No one ever hit the other but it was still exhilarating and frightening. She was in a gunfight and it wasn't Jack that had gotten her into it either, well, at least not directly.

The bullets had stopped for awhile and Ryoko sighted to where she thought they might be standing, her finger on the trigger. She was just about to squeeze when the windows of the cabin crashed in, raining yet another shower of glass over her. She had several cuts from kneeling in the stuff and when Pintel knocked the windows in, she jumped from the floor to sit on the bed, her blood staining the covers.

She could see his silhouette clearly and noticed that he was loading his gun. She shot into his midsection, knocking him backwards through the open window. He dropped his blunderbuss on the bed and disappeared from sight.

She was caught searching for another weapon when Ragetti came up through the window, his gun ready. She had just put her hand on Pintel's weapon when time froze. She brought the gun up painfully slow, Ragetti's grin twisting just as lentil.

His shot, instead of burying itself in her chest where he'd been aiming, merely grazed her upper left arm, tearing a good sized chunk of flesh from her but otherwise, not a fatal wound. Her gun didn't even fire and she threw it at him childishly. A body slammed into Ragetti in a blur of movement and Ryoko's eyes widened. Belle Watling crashed through the door of the cabin and lifted her easily, moving out of the room with a tremendous speed. She leapt to the dock and within seconds, they were aboard _the Pearl_. Barton arrived a few minutes after.

"They'll both live," Barton muttered. "Norrington is herding them over to the jail at the moment. Tavington is already there, as is Dante. Mei Lin is still at large but without them, I doubt she'll be much of a menace. Pintel thinks he's dying but he's wearing some kind of vest thing that stopped your bullet. It must be one of the things we imported from the future."

"You pirated Kevlar?" Ryoko shouted in outrage as Stevenson cleaned her arm. "Are you insane? Kevlar could stop any bullets today! This black powder is weak compared to what Kevlar is used to stopping. They'll be unstoppable. Tell Norrington they are to be hung, not shot! The bullets won't do anything unless you take a head shot."

"What she talkin' 'bout?" Armstrong asked.

"Kevlar vests," she continued. "They're bullet proof."

"There ain't such a thing," Marty said, shaking his head.

"There is," Barton told him. "I've seen it with my own eyes. They'll stop bullets but not blades or cannons." Ryoko was nodding. She stiffened and groaned through her teeth as Stevenson poured alcohol on her arm.

"You can scream, ma'am," Stevenson told her. "Ain't no shame in a woman screamin'."

"Why would I scream?" she asked, but didn't get an answer. What she got was Marty, Armstrong, and Dobereiner grabbing her and holding on tight. She gasped and looked over at Stevenson who held a poker, the tip a bright red.

"Hey, wait a minute," she said nervously. "It didn't get any dirt in it. I just got shot like five minutes ago. I don't need it to be cauterized, do I?"

Stevenson smiled sadly. "We don't know for sure if it'll get infected or not. This is a precaution."

"It's something we can forgo," she told him. "Let me go, guys! Come on! It's not that bad, let me go!"

Stevenson was mournful but he knew that this needed to be done. He had only had to amputate twice on this ship and both times had been when the victim had forgone cauterization. He did not want to have to take this woman's arm. He nodded to the men holding her and they held on tighter.

"I don't want—" she stopped talking immediately as the hiss of the poker touching her flesh filled the air. She gave a choked scream and writhed, gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes tightly. He pulled the poker away and dabbed the spot with a damp rag.

She was still breathing heavily and the men were staring at her in wonder. Stevenson was shaking his head again. "Full of pride, this one is," he muttered. "Didn't want to scream full out. She's shamed a few of you men."

Dobereiner hung his head. "I screamed, to be sure."

Ryoko did not stand up but stretched out her limbs, allowing the doctor to wash out her numerous scrapes from the glass and pick out the chunks still in her flesh. She twitched here and there but made no more noise except to breathe.

She was taken back to the Turner house and with her returned Belle and Barton. They explained everything and revived Will from his unconsciousness. Everyone but Mei Lin had been caught, and she wasn't expected to make any more trouble.

In fact, Mei Lin was sitting huddled in her own warmth under a bridge at the moment, terrified out of her wits. She had helped kidnap that ghost and again, the ghost had escaped. She would certainly wreak her wrath upon poor Mei Lin.

…

"What is the cause of death, sir?" the man asked of the doctor who was examining the body. They were in New Orleans and the body had been found the other day in the ocean. A pair of anglers had towed it ashore and left it on the docks for inspection.

"Well, I'd say this man was eaten by sharks, but there are other wounds on the body," the doctor pointed out. "These scars on the left arm were made quite recently as was that tattoo. I'd say not a week before he died. There are these wounds here," the doctor motioned to slashing on the torso not made by the serrated teeth of a shark, but by a knife. "These may even have been the cause of death. It's quite possible that he was stabbed and thrown overboard. The chest is otherwise unmarred, no bruises or cuts. This man had dark hair and was about 5'11". No rings on the hands, no jewelry surviving the attack, nothing. There is no way to identify this body."

"Maybe someone in town knows something," the other man suggested.

And so, an add was put out for anyone who knew about a man with a tattoo on his right arm of a bird flying over water with the sun in the background.

It hadn't been up for two days when a man came into their clinic. He had dark hair and dark skin, his eyes appearing black in the light of the fireplace. A smaller man came following him. "Sir, you should not be up and about yet. Madame would not want me to allow you to do this."

"Puggy, I needn't listen to you or your Madame, savvy?" the man said in a rugged voice. He turned back to the doctor and smiled, a bit of gold glinting. "Show me to the body." The doctor nodded and opened a door. The man and Puggy followed. He sent Puggy outside to wait for him and the doctor shut the door.

He showed the man over to a table shrouded with a white sheet, an unshapely lump underneath.

"It's not much of a body," the doctor warned him. "Basically it's just the torso and arms but we're hoping the tattoo and scars can give us a hint. This is not a sight for a weak stomach, sir. Are you ready?"

"I'm not weak, sir," the man growled. "Unveil the damn thing."

The doctor took a deep breath and pulled back the sheet, revealing the torn remains of the body.

"Hmm," the man said, poking around. "I was right. It's him for sure."

"Who, sir?" the doctor asked. "Who is ... who _was _this?"

"This," he said, looking the doctor straight in the eye. "My good doctor is the remains of the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. I'd know those scars and tattoo anywhere."

The doctor swallowed and nodded. He covered up the body and began to write. "Thank you sir, and your name is?"

The man grinned. "My name, my friend, is Nicholas. Nicholas Maxwell."

…

^_^ ^o^ ^_^ *o* ~_^

I almost forgot the page count! 288, plus with the glossary, 305. Holy shit! I am glad to say that _The Pirates of the Caribbean; The Oracle's Prophecy_, has taken the record as my longest story, although when I get _Silhouette_ going (that's my original story) that record will probably go to it instead. I take it back. If you add all my _Labyrinth_ sagas, you'll reach about 400, but those are all different parts. Does that count? Those are in a 16 font too. I'm not going to count those because they have pictures and a bigger font.

**Revisited 1-17-07, 2:40 am … pg count … 427**


	16. Chapter XV : Confessions

Um ... yeah. So ... guess what! There's a Pirate Day during spirit week at my school! I'm going full out Jack Sparrow and damn anyone who thinks I'm crazy. They can all just go to hell. Oh, never mind. That would be sending them to my house.

**Chapter XV—Confessions**

The headlines, for the time, were mostly verbal. Not many newspapers made it anywhere but within three weeks, everyone knew about Captain Jack Sparrow's death. It was a world wide scandal. Who had killed him finally, for no one like Jack would just die. Someone had to have whacked him. It was amazing that the news of Mir Jafar in India and the rumors that he was asking the Dutch East India Trading Company for assistance against the British Company didn't compare.

As well, the several 'descent' attempts by Sir Hawke and others on the French, which seemed more like humorous stories as they failed several time. It was rumored as well that General Dury and his men had fallen to the French while attempting to shield a re-embarkation process. Over seven hundred had been killed … the rest captured … so went the rumors. Jack was bigger news even than this.

Eventually, the news got to Port Royal by letter to the Commodore. He, of course, already knew of it from Scarlette but he believed, like she, that Jack was still alive. The discovery of the body, however, made him doubt. He took the letter to the Turner house and had her read it.

"This doesn't make any sense," she said, pouring over the cramped writing of the doctor. "This states that Nicholas Maxwell identified the body. Nick is still in the future."

"It's possible that there is another Nick Maxwell in thi time," Lizzy pointed out. Ryoko continued to read.

After a few minutes, she folded the letter and handed it back to Norrington. "Thank you, sir. The letter holds quite a bit of evidence in favor of Jack being dead, but I still believe, however, that he lives."

"How can you?" Robin asked. "That letter … the tattoo, the scars you said he had, it all fits."

"Wrong," Ryoko contradicted. "In the letter, the scars and tattoo are new. Jack has had those for over ten years. He got the tattoo when he was eighteen."

"I hate to tell you," Norrington added. "But water does strange things to scars and such. It is possible with the saturation of the sea water, that they appeared new."

"No," Ryoko said adamantly. "He lives. Do you want more proof? Go ask Anamaria, the supposed captain of _the Pearl_, to open that cabin door. It's still fastidiously shut to any but the captain, who, unless Jack isn't dead, would open for her."

"Yes, we've seen all that," Jadent nodded. "But you seem convinced in other ways than that."

She smiled. "I had a dream that fits perfectly with the wounds on the body found in New Orleans and with what Barbossa boasted that he'd done. I know he escaped but I'll save how for when he gets here."

"You're making no sense, I'm sorry," Jadent said.

"All right, more proof. This letter said that the chest was unmarred. Jack has two old bullet wounds on his chest. The arms except for the tattoo and scars were bare but he has that pirate brand and," she lifted up her own sleeve to show the bullet wound, burned shut by the poker. "He has a scar almost identical to this one from when Mei Lin stabbed him. He made me and the boy, Eric, cauterize it for him. That body is _not _Jack."

This version of things startled everyone into silence, more even than her misuse of the English language. Her reasoning was persuasive but a few of them still failed to be optimistic and left the room, shaking their heads. Jack Sparrow was dead. There was no way around that fact.

Denial? Maybe. Ryoko tended to believe in faith rather than denial.

…

Lizzy was walking alone by the beach on the western end of Port Royal, looking for shells and such. She had filled her little apron with the little trinkets and had quite a collection when she heard a whistling sound. She looked out to the water and saw nothing, though she felt that there was something she was missing, some sort of signal. She shrugged it off and continued down the sand, her footsteps stretching along the gritty ground.

The noise sounded again and she looked curiously out, not seeing anything suspicious. She decided to explore more and walked out onto the dock, looking around her, ignoring the bustling crowd that always seemed to hang around the dock area. It was mid January and the water was dark, not its usual blue green. She peered into the water and got back her reflection, noticing that the waves broke her face into a million different shards, always moving.

She couldn't see anything past the light in the water and decided she must have been hearing things. She went to walk back to the beach when she heard the whistle a final time. She was becoming aggravated at not seeing the origin and she threw one of her shells into the sea in anger. To her surprise, the water reacted like something alive, reaching a tendril up and washing her off the dock.

She tried to scream but the salty water filled her mouth, choking off her voice. Several of the men on the dock saw the accident, if that was what it was, and shouted for help. A few of them dove into the chilly water but came up, fruitless. Lizzy had disappeared and there was no explanation for why. The men hadn't known who she was and had nothing to tell anyone. Notices were sent to the fort but not much else could be accomplished in the area.

…

That day, during lunch, everyone but Lizzy was in the dining room. That wasn't a strange thing. Not everyone always came to lunch at the same times and Will thought her to be late or with David. It was not until dinner that anything was noticed. Everyone was expected to be at dinner and be on time or give some sort of notice.

"Maybe she eloped," Robin joked. She got a few laughs in return but Elizabeth did not find the comment amusing. She wore her dressing gown under a cloak, shrouding herself. She was a little over six months along and one could definitely tell. Ryoko, a little more than two months behind her, was not as obvious, but given her stature, there wasn't much of a comparison. It was taking the two women differently. Elizabeth was more obvious mostly because she had embraced her condition. Ryoko was running around in Jack's clothing.

After dinner, Will paid a call to David's house. There was no one home and the note on the door said that he'd be back within a week.

No one knew what was going on so Will returned home.

…

She woke, dry, and comfortably warm. She opened her eyes to a dark room, the rock of the walls and ceiling painted wildly by the reflecting light from the water. Not understanding, she sat up. What she saw before worried her greatly. She was sitting in a soft bed but her clothing was elsewhere. She covered herself with the covers and continued to look around. There was no door, just a hole in the floor that was inconveniently filled with water. It was much like Jack's island cache cave except there was no way out but the water hole. She didn't see her clothing anywhere and that bothered her for she was wearing only her under clothes, which were still a bit damp.

"Oh, you're awake," a familiar voice said. "I'm glad." His voice echoed around the cave but she couldn't see him. A splashing sound caught her attention and she looked back at the water. She didn't have her glasses with her and she could barely make out the person climbing from the water. She couldn't be sure, but he looked like he had a tail. That couldn't be right. She rubbed her eyes and waited for him to move closer. He walked over to her and she focused on his face as the last of the bluish tints in his face vanished. It was David.

"What—Where are we?" she asked. He smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.

"We are about ten miles south of Port Royal, just above my real home."

"Really? Where do you live?"

"A place called Tyre Nizith."

"Sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings," she answered. "How do we get out of this cave?"

He smiled. "We'll swim out. We swam in."

"Oh. You must have a boat above us."

"No," he smiled again. "I came to show you my world. I would hate it if you left this time, even though I'll eventually meet up with you again. Allow me to explain after you've gotten dressed. Here," he handed her the glasses and she slipped them on. He didn't have a tail. He handed her some blue fabric that fell like water through her fingertips. As he turned his back, she changed into the form fitting little dress. The blue folds reached the ground and hugged her legs, though it was stretchable and had many invisible slits in it. She twirled around in it, wondering what the fabric was made of. It felt like she hardly had anything on.

She turned and smiled brilliantly at him, sitting on the bed next to him.

"Now, I will explain," he told her. "I am not human." He waited for her to laugh at him but she merely nodded her head, a little surprised.

"You believe me?" he asked.

"I do," she answered. "Barbossa is a vampire, why do you have to be human? This time is different from ours. Tell me the rest."

"Well," he began. "Tyre Nizith is about a mile under water. I am of the Sea People."

"You're a mermaid?"

"Merman, I'd prefer." He looked a little indignant but not too hurt by the comment. He stood and motioned for her to follow. He put a hand in the water and she watched in amazement as a fine blue webbing grew between his fingers, his nails growing about an inch and becoming claws. Scales marched up his arms to fade into his skin at the water level.

"Cool!" Lizzy exclaimed. David smiled and pulled his hand from the water, the scales and webbing fading back into his human hands.

"I knew you'd understand," he smiled. "Any other woman would have run screaming but not you. Would you like to see the city?"

"Oh, yes," she said. "But how will I breathe?"

"Don't worry," he told her. "As long as you're touching me or one of my kind, you can breathe just as well as on land. Ready?" She nodded. He slipped into the water and she watched his body change. The grey breaches he'd been wearing twined together to melt into a magnificent black tail, the scales shining blue in the light, the fin a blue so pure it almost blended with the water. The scales made an intriguing pattern over his stomach and chest, the blue scales fading again into his normal skin, even under water. She slid in beside him and was surprised to find that she could see very clearly under water, and she could breathe. She looked into his eyes, which had changed to a golden color, the pupil just a slit. His ears had taken an elfish look, pointing up into his hair, which appeared green in the sea light. He took her hand and began to swim off, she paddling uselessly by his side.

He was telling her things telepathically. _There are two types of basic merclans in the Caribbean. Ours are the Tyrnise, and the others, the Lyandize. If you know the difference, it's easy to tell us apart. My kind swim by moving our tails up and down, like a dolphin or whale. The Lyandize swim by moving side to side like a shark. Their fins are like caudal fins as well, the fin vertical as opposed to our horizontal_. _There are also Sirens and Nereids. Sirens have wings in addition. Nereids have small horns._ Lizzy was very interested and had many questions but she didn't know how to ask them. The telepathy only seemed to go one way.

_Right now, the Lyandize and my clan are at peace but sometimes, war breaks out between us. That's what some of the storms are from_. _Around the British isles, there are Merrows, which are much more mammalian than any of us. To the East, there are all sorts of strange sea people, like the Miengu and the Samebito, or the Ningyo. To the North, the warrior Nix keep to the colder waters. We are many._

They were swimming along the bottom of the sand, his tail kicking up puffs of dust from the floor. They suddenly cleared the ridge and came upon a drop. He took it smoothly, gliding through the water without resistance. Suddenly, Lizzy saw the lights. There was a city down here! It was beautiful enough to bring tears to her eyes, not that you'd know it seeing as she was surrounded by water.

They moved into the city, gliding through columns aged by the water and the people began to filter out from the buildings. Lizzy saw all the different varieties of colors, some orange, others green, and even a few purple shades. They were beautiful and everyone was smiling. David brought her to a large building near the middle of town.

The doorway was strung with kelp that flowed in the direction of the current and it clung to her hair as they crossed the threshold.

There was an older man floating there, looking at something on a water worn desk. His tail was silver, as was his flowing hair and scales. He turned to the doorway and nodded.

_This is my grandfather_, David announced. _This is Lizzy, the human I spoke about_.

_Hello, human_, the older merman said, swimming closer and touching his forehead hers. It was the greeting of the people below. _I'm glad David is more liberal than most. A lot wouldn't mind meeting a human but none wish to condone two different lives_.

Lizzy nodded, still afraid to speak. David smiled and swam with her into another room. He pulled her up to the ceiling, which had a strange texture, or appeared to. It was just the surface. The room had air at the top. She broke the surface and breathed in the stale air.

He broke beside her, his eyes bleeding from gold to their usual brown.

"This is amazing!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

He shook his head. "I wasn't sure you'd believe me, but then, I saw you disappear with that candlestick and I knew you'd understand."

"Um …." Lizzy had an idea. David looked exactly like DJ, and he seemed about the same as well. Could it be possible? "How long do merpeople live?"

David smiled at her. "As long as we wish, Liz. I could live to the end of time and not age a day. My grandfather just decided to age gradually but even he is about two hundred years old. I'm only eighteen, truly. In fact, my birthday was just yesterday, the twelfth."

"You're kidding!" Lizzy exclaimed. "It really is you!"

"What?"

"I know you from my time! You're actually my boyfriend! We planned to get married when we hit twenty-one. You have the same birthday and everything! This is fantastic! But why didn't you tell me then?"

"Are you serious?" David asked. "This is incredible! I probably didn't tell you in your time because, well, what year are you from?"

"Well, now I guess it would be 2004."

"What? That sounds so futuristic. So about 250 years ahead. Well, would you date someone that old?"

"Well, when you put it that way ... but you don't age."

He nodded and looked at her. "Lizzy ... I brought you down here to ask you a question, but first I must confess something. I know I have all the time in the world to settle, but no one has made me feel the way you do. I suppose what I am trying to say, is that I love everything about you."

Lizzy looked surprised but broke into a dazzling smile a few seconds later. "Now that I know you and DJ are one and the same, you'll be glad to know that I can say it as well. I was afraid to tell you anything because I still had DJ, but I should have known all along that you were both the same. I love you now and then and forever."

He smiled at her. "Good! I mean ... um ..." Lizzy witnessed her first ever merman blushing. "I wanted to ask you if you would like to stay here in this time with me?"

"Is that possible?" she asked. "I mean, I'm human. Won't your people be angry?"

He shook his head. "You can be magically changed. We could live both above and below and we wouldn't have to tell your friends. Scarlette might not care but I think Robin might be angry."

Lizzy nodded solemnly. "She would say I was throwing my life away for something I didn't truly understand. Forgive me David. I need to think this over."

"Oh, you don't need to be forgiven," he told her. "I understand completely. I'm asking a big thing. Your life would change completely."

Lizzy nodded. Then again, her life had already changed a great deal. Could she really go back to her time and live a normal life?

"You may stay a few days, if you like," he told her, pulling her into a hug.

"I would like that," she answered, putting her arms around his neck.

"I'll do a spell that allows you to breathe by yourself. It lasts one whole day. If I do it now, all we have to do is be above by the time it wears off, or have you be touching me. I can't do an overlap with the spell or you'll be 'irreparably changed' and the time thing with Barton's blood won't work anymore. I don't know if you ever found out but Diana is cursed. That's why she couldn't return. Scarlette, well, Scarlette's change wasn't obvious until she started getting sick. You were gone the first time that happened."

"I can't wait until she ... you know ... has the kid. She was always saying how she'd never get married and never have kids due to her eccentric attitude, her tomboyish interests, and her deep voice, among other things. She may have been right, although it took time travel to prove her wrong. Jack is weirder than she is and apparently, he likes strong women."

"I think he likes the challenge," David added. "Although, as long as I've got you, there's nothing I want. Nothing in the world."

Lizzy giggled. "I love it when you talk like that."

…

Robin was walking on the Eastern side of Port Royal, looking at the sign of a local tavern. It said _The Green Dragon_. There was a pub in the Tolkein books named the same. She looked at the note in her hand and entered, blinking in the smoky darkness. The pub wasn't very full that day, only two men sitting at the dimly lit bar. The owner, a woman with a cherubic face and a pointed nose was wiping down the counter, her golden ringlets tightly spun and held in a ribbon. She smiled at Robin as she entered and bade her to sit.

"What might ye be havin' luv?" the woman asked politely.

"I don't want anything," Robin apologized. "I'm just waiting for someone."

The woman nodded. "You need anythin' jus' call ol' Rosie, roight?" the woman returned to the bar and continued her shining. A few moments later, the door opened and Topher walked in, sitting next to Robin.

"You're still following me?" she asked him.

"Tavington is here," he pointed out. "In jail, for the time being, but I can't risk him getting out. It's my job, you understand."

She shrugged. "I was supposed to meet someone here. Look." She handed him a note.

_Dear Robin,_

_I have admired you for quite awhile now. _

_You don't know who I am yet, but you'll soon know my heart_

_and I hope to know yours as well._

_Be at the Green Dragon pub on the eastern side of town at 11:30._

_ ~Me_

"How ... clever," he said a bit sarcastically. "If it were me, I'd send flowers at least. This doesn't give you any incentive to come." The door opened and the squinted at the light from outside.

It was a scrawny old man that held a bag in his withered hands. "Is there a Miss Skiles in here?" Robin groaned and raised her hand. The little man hobbled over and handed her the bag.

"These're fer you," he said smiling, revealing several missing teeth. Topher tipped him and he left the pub. Robin pulled the bag off and uncovered several white roses. After smelling one of the flowers, Topher picked up a card and handed it to her.

"This came with the flowers," he told her. "It fell out of the bag."

_Dear Robin,_

_I take it you received the flowers. I think they suit you nicely._

_There are six, one for each month you have been here. _

_Your next destination is the market place. Walk down the eastern_

_wing and you will receive my next surprise._

_ ~Me_

"Well, that made me eat my words," Topher shot. "Are you going?"

"Well, yeah," Robin said. "Who ever this is has got my curiosity up. Could it be Norrington?"

"I don't think so," Topher disagreed. "The words are plainer than his and he isn't ... wild enough to do something like this. I would say it was Tavington, playing a dumb trick to kidnap you but he's still in jail. I just checked."

"Well, I'm going to find out," she said stubbornly. "And you're coming with me."

"Why?"

"You're going to follow me anyway," she said. "Might as well walk with me. The eastern side isn't as dangerous as the western side but you're coming anyway."

He shrugged and followed her, leaving a tip on the table even though they hadn't bought anything.

…

"Do you see any suspicious looking men?" she mumbled out of the side of her mouth. Topher shook his head.

"You're crazy," he told her. "He's probably just going to give you another hint or something." A woman with a basket of fruit crashed into them and the basket went flying. Robin bent to help the women pick up her wares and was handed an envelope with a blank wax seal. The woman nodded politely and continued on her way. Robin broke the seal and tore open the envelope.

"It's a necklace," she pointed out. It was on a silver chain, a caricature of a tiny sword, dangling from the hilt. "It's beautiful. I wonder where they got it."

"Probably Mr. Guerre," Topher answered. "He's the local silver smith and he's good enough to make things as intricate as a spider's web."

Robin had him clasp it around her neck as she read the next note.

_ Dear Robin,_

_Getting closer, my dear. I hope you liked the necklace. There's_

_more where that came from. Guerre is a friend of mine so don't_

_worry about the cost of such an item. Continue down the street_

_of the eastern market until you reach the docks. Move to the_

_farthest harbor tower and wait for my next move._

_~Me again_

"This is getting slightly annoying," she stated but continued down the road until they reached the last tower. She leaned against it and sighed. "Can't men act normally?"

"I thought women wanted a man to be mysterious or romantic?" Topher asked bluntly.

She smiled. "You've got a point. I'm just getting impatient. I'm glad you're actually talking."

He smiled. "There's your messenger." It was a young girl with her dog. She smiled up at them and handed Robin a little box. She opened the box and pulled out a folded sheet of paper with more writing on it.

_Dear Robin,_

_Sorry I'm running out of gifts. Look up. You'll see the hills above_

_Fort Charles. Walk directly towards them until you're stopped._

_~Yet again, Me_

"Off we go, then," Robin sighed, walking towards the fort. When they were nearly at the doors, Norrington emerged from the fort and smiled at her. Topher started laughing.

"I guess I was wrong, eh? Old Norrie does have a few wild cards up his sleeve." Norrington gave a small bow to both of them and handed Robin yet another piece of paper, this one with a nifty rose water mark underneath the writing.

"Good day, Robin, Christian. I shall get back to work now." He turned and re-entered the fort. Robin unfolded the letter.

_Scared you there, didn't I. No, Norrington doesn't have the_

_brains to think up something this good. Go around the fort on the_

_starboard side and stop at the base of the hill, where the stairs begin._

She complied, a little frustrated. He had scared her when she saw Norrington. She had forced a smile and gritted her teeth, breathing in a sigh of relief when she read the letter, but this person was getting on her nerves.

They stopped at a marble flight of stairs ascending the mountain in a thin, crooked line. As she was following the stairs with her eyes, someone tapped her shoulder. It was Gillette.

"Shit," she hissed. He looked rather insulted but good naturedly gave her a box and left. She tore open the box and the smell of cookies permeated the air.

_I would close the box if I were you. There are still ravenous animals_

_on that hill. I made them myself and I hope you enjoy them when you get_

_the chance. You must have been scared when you saw that idiot of the_

_navy. Go up the stairs and don't stop until you reach the gazebo at the_

_peak. The stairs and gazebo belong to Sir Andrew Gonzalez. He won't_

_care if you're up there. He's been dead for ten years_

_and no one claimed the property._

"Up we go," Robin sighed. "I hate stairs." She and Topher began to climb the stairs, reaching the summit in a few minutes, Robin winded, Topher just slightly flushed. Robin sat down on a settee to rest, fanning herself and squeaked when she found she'd sat on something.

It was a semi large box and she didn't understand how she had sat on the thing. There was a paper on the lid stating THIS IS THE LAST CLUE.

She tore off the lid and gasped.

…

Lizzy and David arrived back in town as Robin and Topher were chasing her admirer around the small town. They walked back up to Turner's house and entered. Will found them almost as soon as they'd arrived and cornered them with his questions.

"Where have you two been and what have you been up to?"

"Happy birthday Will," David said fondly. "I missed it yesterday. How does it feel to be twenty?"

Will was astonished. The change of subject had confused him for a second but he shook his head and got to business. "Your birthday was the day before it. Where were you?"

"It's all my fault," David said. "I was showing Lizzy around my boat when the captain came to me and started telling me about the cracks in the fore. Lizzy had gone exploring while I was fixing the fore mast and I hadn't realized that the ship had set sail. We were out for a few days and Lizzy had been stuck on board, that's all. There was no way to contact you, I'm sorry."

Will nodded. "We were worried. In the light of what Tavington had done, we were afraid that maybe he'd been released and struck again."

"It's okay though, right Will?" Lizzy asked, giving him her pleading eyes. Will melted under her stare. He was useless against women. He nodded sheepishly and she cheered.

He could never guess what the truth had been.

…

"Dammit!" Robin exclaimed, pulling out yet another box. The first box had contained a second, slightly smaller box, inside being a third, and a fourth, and a fifth. She was on her sixth box, the thing still bigger than her hand. She went through another five boxes and sighed in relief when the sixth held a sheet of paper, rolled many times and held with a golden ring. She looked at it shortly and pulled it off the paper, unrolling it and reading hungrily.

_Green Dragon __ six white roses_

_Eastern Market __ sword necklace_

_Farthest Harbor tower __ box_

_Fort Charles __ rose letter_

_Base of Hill __ sugar cookies_

_Gazebo __ twelve boxes and a ring, the final answer_

_Well, that was amusing. I bet you'll never guess who it is. _

_I'll tell you ... eventually. Look around you, what do you see. _

_Do you see your faithful bodyguard, or did you make him stay _

_at the base of the hill. Whatever the case, he's the closest one _

_to you right now. He knows who it is because he's the one who _

_wrote these annoying letters. He doesn't expect you to reply in _

_any way but got tired of being second to Norrington. He's _

_been courting you for quite some time now and let's just _

_say, I think he deserves something a little less than you._

_I guess you could say that this is asking permission _

_to court you as well. Think about it._

_ ~CT_

Robin looked up at Topher and smiled at him. "You're joking. This is some elaborate joke made up to pass the time."

Topher shrugged and smiled. "I wish that it were, Robin. If you need me to say it, I will. I like you. I like that you're not afraid to stand up to Will's wife. I like that you can tease Scarlette and not get killed, unlike her own husband. I also admire your brilliant capacity to deal well with disappointment."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Oh, come dear. I know you had a crush on the pirate. The way you spoke of him made it obvious but you must have realized that it was a crush, nothing serious, and moved on. I wish it were that easy for me. To tell you the truth," he said, moving to sit beside her, lowering his voice. "I don't think I can move on without damaging myself, but if you wish me to, I will."

"Oh, no," Robin said. "I just ... don't know yet. I don't think I know you all that well. Give me some time to figure my own head out before I start thinking about what's going on in that category. I guess you can court me. I'm just afraid Norrington is going to get competitive. He might even replace you as my guard."

"I wouldn't mind so much, except I would have to get more creative in thinking of reasons to see you."

Robin smiled. "You have a neat sense of humor that I never discovered. Why were you so quiet all the time?"

Topher thought for a moment and decided to be honest with her. "I didn't want the job any more than you wanted me to guard you at first. I thought anyone Norrington would take a liking to would be as ... austere as Elizabeth. I didn't want anything to do with someone like her, at least the way she used to be, before the child. Now she's all love like and she's even nice to Jack."

"What do you think about Jack?" Robin asked. "Do you think he's alive?"

"Personally, no. I think he's dead and the Mrs. is fooling herself. I believe in things I can touch and feel. Her dream that supposedly showed her the way was too … fabulous to me and the whole door magic where only the captain can get in is ridiculous. Jack probably has one key into that cabin, on his person most likely. As for her scar comments, the doctor never said that the chest was whole. Jack's scars might have been bitten away. How many other men who went to New Orleans to die or escape had a sparrow tattoo? What is the probability that someone else died in the same vicinity as Jack is said to have gone down had that tattoo and scars on the arms? It's so unlikely that it makes my teeth itch to hear her argue the point. She's deluding herself."

Robin had sat through his words, making her own judgment. She somewhat agreed with him. The odds were against Jack and though she wished he was alive and well, she wasn't a big believer in Scarlette's clairvoyant dreams even though she'd had a few herself. Robin believed in what she saw or what she came up with herself. Scarlette's stories were a bit too tall.

The day became later and they eventually collected the boxes and descended the steps. They returned to Will's house and greeted Lizzy and David, who were sitting hand in hand on one of the parlor sofas. It seemed everyone had been making confessions lately. Kristin and Groves had gotten comfy at the ball, Lizzy and David, Robin and Topher, it was normal, or normal for the future girls. The men seemed to like these straightforward women. It saved them the nerve and expense of being subtle.

…

Ryoko, under orders not to be about, was ignoring Mulligan. She knew what her limits were better than anyone else. She wasn't just some 18th century petite woman. She was a 21st century petite woman who had marched six and a half miles with a hunk of brass on her shoulder (that would be the tuba), survived a bone crisis, gone through over six surgeries and had to deal with Jack Sparrow for a month and a half, although the last in itself was probably equal to the others combined.

Of course, she'd never given birth. She'd never intended to. Who was she to know when she was in danger or not? Did she listen to reason? Well, that's Ryoko for you.

She wanted to buy some strawberries but knew there probably weren't any in town. She wasn't particularly starving but her appetite had increased and occasionally, there were certain things she wanted, but that wasn't from her condition. She was like that all the time.

She allowed her cloak to shroud her body and continued down the road, careful to avoid puddles. A sprained ankle would be less than advantageous. She didn't look up from the road until she heard shouting.

In the middle of the road, surrounded on all sides by the dirty men of Port Royal, stood Mei Lin. She looked highly frightened, cornered like a mouse, and she kept shouting incoherent phrases. Of course, she was speaking Cantonese. Ryoko knew that. She stepped into the fray, shouting loudly to the men. She tossed her cloak back and put her hand on the hilt of the sword at her hip.

"Back off, you buzzards. Leave her alone." Even though Mei Lin had tried to kill Jack, Ryoko felt sorry for her. She could only hope that her kindness to her now would be remembered.

"Oh, look boys," one of the men spat. "We've got another one to play with. What's your name?"

"None of your business," she spat just as acridly. "Leave her alone or I'll be forced to make you."

"And what are you gonna do, missy?" another asked. "What've you got that we're to be afraid of?"

Ryoko sneered. "Well, I suppose I'll start with my name. I'm Scarlette Sparrow. Does it ring a bell?"

"Yeah," one said a bit hesitantly. "That be Jack's woman. Bad idea to mess with her."

"Jack's dead," another said. "He won't be carin'."

"He's not dead!" another shivered. "Haven't you heard the rumors? The body found wasn't him!"

Ryoko left them to argue amongst themselves, grabbing Mei Lin's arm and pulling her along. She pulled her into a candle shop, leaving by the back entrance on the next lane. The men would never find them.

"Are you all right?" she asked, separating her words so the girl could understand better. Mei Lin nodded.

"Why you help?" she asked. Ryoko shrugged.

"Why you kill?"

"I no kill. Big Beard kill. I mad at Jack. He leave me in China."

"He had to. Your father would have killed him, plus he didn't love you."

"He love you?"

Ryoko didn't know the answer to that one. She almost said no, but realized that that answer would just confuse Mei Lin. She settled for a shrug. Mei Lin smiled.

"You ghost? Berry, no ... marry Jack?" Ryoko nodded and Mei Lin did the same. She smiled and bowed at Ryoko. "I no hurt you, no hurt Jack. You save me, I no forget. I think I be ... stupid when say _wo ai ni _to Jack."

"I understand that. _Wo ai ni _means I love you, right?"

"Yes. You know Cantonese or Mandarin?"

"No, neither really. I can say _ni hao ma_, _wo ai ni_, that's all. How are you and I love you." Mei Lin nodded. Ryoko started walking and Mei Lin followed.

"Where are you staying?"

"I no ... don't know."

"Ah, well, I know what to do. Follow me," Ryoko headed off to the fort. She entered the jail portion, nodding to the jail master. He knew her well enough and didn't give Mei Lin a second look. The Chinese girl was frightened, thinking maybe Ryoko had betrayed her, but she calmed when Ryoko looked at the prisoner belongings rack.

"Which one is Dante's?" she asked. Mei Lin pointed and Ryoko filched the bag. They left the fort and Ryoko took Mei Lin to _The Sugar Loaf_. She paid for the room with Dante's money and handed the bag over to Mei Lin. A bit of explanation to the owner and everything was set. Mei Lin bowed again before Ryoko left and she returned to the Turner house, meeting an angry Elizabeth and an angrier Mulligan.

"Mrs. Sparrow! Are you trying to make this hard?" he exclaimed, ushering her up to her room. "You are a small woman! If you keep gallivanting around every day, you're going to hurt yourself."

Ryoko didn't reply but allowed the maids to undress her and put her to bed. Mulligan entered the room when they were finished and conducted his check up. Everything seemed fine. The circles under her eyes had lightened and she didn't feel sick anymore. She knew why she'd picked up. She was positive of Jack's escape and it had made her heart light again.

She humored the doctor and answered his questions but she wasn't thinking about that scenario. Her mind was elsewhere. If Jack was indeed alive, why had he not come back? It was the only thing that bothered her about the situation. She had a few thoughts on why he might not return immediately, one being that he was injured and needed to recover before coming.

She was brought food and drink and left with Elizabeth to sleep.

…

Nick was sitting calmly in his living room, attempting to set up his new DVD player. He was now fourteen and lived in Oregon, not California. The player was receiving the audio frequencies just fine by the video connection wasn't working.

He went to look behind the speakers to see if one of the connectors was unplugged and in doing so, knocked over a picture frame that had been on top of the cable box. The frame fell to the carpet, making a loud noise as it hit. He cursed and bent to pick up the frame. He looked at the glass to make sure it wasn't broken and something caught his eye. It was a picture of him and his sister when they were younger. He looked bright in the picture but she seemed to have faded, her skin blurry and somewhat translucent. The pattern on the canvas behind them could be seen in her skin. He put the picture in its normal place and looked around, finding other pictures that showed a similar phenomenon.

He went into her room and dug up some of her own pictures. She was disappearing from the photographs before his eyes.

He didn't know what to do except wait until the others came back, not that he would know it. They would most likely go back to California, a place where he was not able to get to easily.

He began trying to think of something while he fixed up his DVD player.

…

Barbossa sat blissfully alone at his own table in a Tortuga pub, sipping his drink and spitting it into the spittoon with precise accuracy. The room had been applauding him ever since he began and a few had attempted to compete, spitting tobacco into the spittoon, some missing and some making. None would beat him however, for his newly acquired eyesight and skill was above the human level.

He was just about to go and catch a victim before dawn when Colin, the miserable Scott, came rushing in screaming. "Bandits! Unorna's boys are at it again!"

"Well, Jack ain't here ta clear 'em out." the man at the bar snorted. "You'll just have to find some other way. Ask this guy. He seems a good man fer such things." He motioned at Barbossa who took in Colin with a wary eye. The Scott came over and began to plead his case.

Barbossa listened without comment and stood when the man was finished. "What's in it fer me?"

"I'll pay you. Five escudos."

"You said Jack wasn't here? Would that be Jack Sparrow by any chance?"

"Yes, that's the one."

"I want double whatever you paid him."

"What? That's way too much."

"How much is it?" Barbossa asked the crowd.

"Twenty doubloons," a man shouted. "No one has that much right now."

"I won't be movin' from this spot until you deliver the gold," Barbossa told Colin. He pretended to slurp his drink while Colin shivered. The Scot finally hung his head.

"Ye'll find the money in me hovel, but ye've got to stop the gypsies first. If not, ye won't _get_ paid." Barbossa sneered and stood, Colin immediately intimidated into cowering. He followed the pale man until they reached the square where Makeo and the others were running amok.

Barbossa grabbed the reins of one of the horses and gave a yank, sending both the rider and the horse to the ground. He took out his gun and shot a few of them, the gun being a future model and holding more than one shot. When the gun was empty, he pulled out his cutlass and began to whittle down the bandits. Makeo pulled out his bow and aimed straight and true. The arrow went through Barbossa's mid section and the vampire/pirate felt the blow. The wooden arrow hurt him unlike the cold lead of the bullets. Makeo called his surviving men to retreat.

Barbossa fell to his knees, the arrow sticking from him in an askew position. Makeo stopped and shot a few more arrows into the man as the gypsy train moved out of the town. Barbossa fell in the road, with dawn approaching quickly.

…

Jadent waited until Elizabeth was downstairs to enter the room. Ryoko was reading a book, the covers pulled up to her waist as she sat on the bed. He sat beside her without being invited and looked at her.

She ignored him, turning one of the pages and reading the next side. He cleared his throat and she continued to peruse the book, not bothering to look at him. He finally grew bored with that game and pulled the book down so that she might look at him. She sighed, closed her eyes, and came up with a cold stare. "What do you want?"

He smiled, still convinced no woman could not like him. "Have you thought about my proposal?"

She fixed a purposeful glare on him and shook her head. "No, I have not."

Jadent looked incredulous. "Why not?"

"Because," she said plainly, picking her book back up and finding her spot on the page. "I am already married."

"You are a widow," Jadent pointed out.

"I am not," Ryoko said, and ignored him further. He left the room in a snit, running into Bootstrap on the way out. He stuck his nose in the air and Bootstrap was tempted to trip him down the stairs. He entered the room and Ryoko greeted him warmly.

"Guess what I found out?" Bootstrap said eagerly. "I think I know why our boy John Jadent is fixin' fer yer hand. Look at this."

It was a sheet of paper, full of little numbers. Ryoko didn't know enough about the time to understand everything but she knew it was a record of money. The amount at the bottom was large, but there was a negative sign inserted before it.

"What is this?"

"It's a record for his manor in London," Bootstrap answered. "He'll lose it by June if he don't get any more money for it."

"Where do I come in?" she asked.

Bootstrap grinned. "In the event of Jack's death, his entire share goes to you and the kid. That cave, Isla de Muerta, holds a lot of Jack's share, but that's not all of it. What I'm tryin' to say is, yer filthy rich! Jadent can't wait to get his hands on that money and so he's tryin' to save his manor by sweet talkin' you."

"What an ass," Ryoko sighed. "There really aren't very many decent men in the world, are there?"

Bootstrap shrugged and smiled. "Yer not gonna except, are ye?"

"Of course not," Ryoko told him. "I would never do such a thing. He's a jerk and I'm still spoken for."

"If Jack's alive," Bootstrap pointed out. "I hate to say it, but every day, I get less and less sure of Jack's life."

Ryoko shrugged. "Don't give up, Bill. He wouldn't give up on you."

"That's because I was immortal at the time," Bootstrap answered. "As wily and unpredictable as Jack may be, he's still a man."

Ryoko nodded. "We can't give up, though. To say he's dead, will make it so. I'm not sayin' it."

"Yer in denial," Bootstrap told her sadly.

"Ain't just a river in Egypt," she cracked. Bootstrap shook his head and left the room.

…

Barbossa woke to a smoke filled room, surrounded by gilt framed mirrors. His reflection was transparent but not completely gone. He was lying on a richly furbished bed with swaddling bandages around his naked chest, the arrow wounds still bleeding. So he'd add arrows to the list of things that could hurt him. He sat up, groaning under the pain of the holes. He felt vulnerable, something he'd grown used to not feeling. He looked around the room, trying to locate his things. There was his hat and his coat and vest and belt. He was attempting to dress himself when the door opened and a woman walked in. She had long blonde hair that shown almost white in the dim light of the room.

"Who're you?" Barbossa growled.

"I am Phyllidia," the woman answered. "My friends and I rescued you from the street after the bandit attack. Usually Jack clears them out before anything can happen to the town but he's good at things like that."

"Damn that Jack Sparrow," Barbossa muttered. "He's bestin' me even after he's dead."

"Dead?" Phyllidia asked. "Jack can't be dead. He can get out of anything."

"Trust me, I watched him die," Barbossa told her. "He's dead."

Phyllidia looked sad. "Are you certain?" Barbossa nodded and she burst into tears, something he had not expected. He looked around nervously but the girl continued to bawl.

"How can Jack be dead!" she asked the air, choking on her sobs. "And I never even got to say goodbye! The last time I saw him, he was with that woman! That short one with the golden hair!"

"Scarlette?"

"Oh! She said she was his wife! How could he do such a thing to me?"

Barbossa ignored her cries, knowing that several women had designs on Jack, for what reason, he couldn't guess. He understood why Scarlette and Jack were together. She was like him, but these women were ridiculous, most of them whores or street dancers.

He was lucky she didn't ask how Jack died for if he'd told her he'd killed him, she might have called everyone in and had a Barbossacide. As it was, he had no idea what time of day or night it was or even if it was the same night or day. He decided to ask.

"It's about three in the afternoon," she told him. "You've only been out for about half a day."

"Well, that's refreshing," he muttered. He was hungry and couldn't guarantee that the woman would leave the room if she didn't do it in a matter of minutes. His control was slipping.

"Can I ask of ye a favor?' he began. "Go outside and find me a valet. I need a man to help me to me ship, aye?" Phyllidia complied and a youngish boy with thin blonde hair was brought to the room. He died within a matter of minutes and Barbossa hid the body, well satisfied. The boy was left in a corner, shrouded by several silks found in the room of the whorehouse. He stayed in the room until nightfall where he could then leave without burning. The women stared at him as he left, a few offering their services. "Come up stairs. I'll flush those white cheeks." Barbossa declined and returned to _the_ _Dragon_, setting sail for the next port.

"There's something strange about him," Cassandra, the Egyptian girl pointed out. "A lot of those wounds he sustained were killing wounds."

The women shrugged and returned to their business.

…

_The Poison Dragon _sailed southward and the night was still young. Barbossa was not getting as annoyed with his crew as usual, the Chinese doing their duties, the cursed pirates doing their watches, and the normal English pirates living in fear. There were no prisoners to feed from and Barbossa's appetite was growing with his power. He was getting a bit sick of Chinese food, however and had started preying on his own crew, or at least on the living ones. The cursed pirates' blood turned to ash in _his_ mouth.

He smiled evilly as he spotted a large vessel riding the tide on the horizon. He directed his helmsman to sail in that direction. The Chinese man nodded, understanding his captain perfectly.

Barbossa already had a name for his new ship.

…

_The Pearl _was getting ready to leave and Anamaria knew Scarlette would want to go with them. She looked back to a conversation she'd had with Jack before he'd gone off to find Barbossa.

{FLASHBACK}

_ "Anamaria, just the person I wanted to see," Jack had exclaimed, throwing his arms wide. He hugged her, making her blush and look at him in suspect. _

_ "You called for me, Cap'n?" she said as a greeting._

_ "Aye, that I did," he told her. "I'm off to settle this ransom matter. You're the only one I'm telling this to, so you'd better listen carefully. If I don't return, you are to be the captain, understand? Don't go after me and don't attack Barbossa. Also, you'll eventually make your way to Port Royal. Scarlette will be there. You'll see what I mean when you get there, but she is to stay in Port Royal until her ... condition is no longer, understand? Do not let her accompany you when you leave. If you have to tie her to a tree to leave her, you'll do it."_

_ "Why, Jack?" she had asked._

_ He smiled a little. "You'll see. I don't want to tell you now."_

_ "Are you afraid I'll slap you again?"_

_ "Honestly? A bit."_

_ Anamaria smiled. "Don't worry, Jack. I'm finished being angry at you."_

_ His eyebrows lifted I amazement. "You are? Thank God for small favors."_

{END FLASHBACK}

And so she had not notified Scarlette that she was leaving. When she saw _the Pearl_'s black canvas out of her window, she sat up abruptly and called to Bootstrap. He came running, thinking she'd hurt herself but he understood when he found her glued to the window.

"_The Pearl_'s leaving!"

"Aye," he answered. "It be on its way to Charleston this day. It needs to do it's pillaging outside the Caribbean or have the navy on it."

"South Carolina? I want to go with them!"

"No, lass."

"Why not?"

"Must I make a list? Look at you! Plus, Jack wouldn't want it."

"Well, Jack never wants me to do anything."

Bootstrap smiled. "Ye be a precious one."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He only smiled at her and left the room. She sat down on the bed, wanting to scream and break something but settling for taking a nap. She whispered two words before closing her eyes. "Bloody pirates."

…

"Sir, I've found a sloop," the little man named Puggy informed his Mistress' charge. (That would be his employer, not his lover)

"Have you now," the man asked him. "Is it in good shape?"

"Aye sir, that it is. I won't be able to procure it for a few more days but as soon as Jean-Claude is done with it, he says I can use it."

"How many more days?"

"It'll be ready by the first, sir," Puggy answered.

"April? Fine. Plenty of time."

Puggy nodded and went to find dinner.

…

Lizzy, Anita, Claudia, Robin, and Diana were sitting in the garden, trading secrets and telling jokes, things they normally did.

"Dammit," Claudia said suddenly. "What happened to us? This is absurd! Ryo's up in bed with her belly getting bigger by the day, Diana won't eat anything, Robin is being chased by a naval commodore, and Lizzy, well, Lizzy hasn't changed much. She's still in love with DJ, no matter that he seems to have been reincarnated as a sailor. Or would that be the sailor reincarnated? Oh, hell. I'm confusing myself."

Topher walked over to them and sat beside Robin on the wicker chair. He seemed to lounge there, putting his arms on the back of the long chair and stretching out his long legs encased in black cloth, his boots coming up just below the knee. His legs were crossed at the ankles.

Robin caught herself traveling up his legs with her eyes and looked away suddenly, blushing. In light of his affections, she suddenly became more aware of her beneficent bodyguard. He was _very _cute, his cheekbones high, his cheeks sunken in to give him a sort of pout. His nearly black hair shined in the grey light of the winter's day, straight until it hit his ears, then becoming wavy enough to appear thicker than it was. His pale skin was accentuated by his hair, eyes, and clothing. His eyes were actually brown, but they seemed black, set in his pale face.

She forced herself to pay attention to her friends and not Topher's qualities. Claudia was giving her a look and smiling mischievously, probably meaning Robin would be the butt of some blackmailing scheme later on, assuming Claudia remembered.

They were chatting normally in a few minutes when another girl walked up. They had only seen her a few times, but the face of Mei Lin was unmistakable. Topher jumped up and had the poor girl against his chest, his pistol against her temple.

"I no! I no hurt! Aah!" Mei Lin was terrified. She didn't see Scarlette anywhere amongst the girls and she was afraid of the man who had her held immobile. "Ryoko! Help Ryoko! I no hurt you!'

"I'm not sure if we should believe her," Anita suggested. "It might be a trap."

"Duh," Claudia said. "Of course it's a trap."

"No trap," Mei Lin insisted.

Topher dragged her up to the house and threw her into a chair, tying her limbs to the arms of the furniture.

Ryoko, hearing the commotion downstairs, got out of bed yet again and slipped into her robe. She held it closed with one hand and went down the stairs, holding the banister with the other. She happened in the dining room where Topher was holding Mei Lin and she shrieked.

"What are you doing?" she moved quickly, grabbing one of the kitchen knives and slashing the bonds, freeing Mei Lin. "She's turned!" Mei Lin sprung from the chair and stood behind Ryoko, looking around her shoulder in a timid stare.

"We can't trust her," Topher argued. "She's tried to kill Jack and kidnap you. How can you stand there and want to protect her?"

"She isn't going to attack us any more," Ryoko told him. She held out her hand behind her and Mei Lin took it. "She promised not to and I believe her so back off."

Topher laughed at her in incredulity. "You are gullible, Scarlette. You continue to say that Jack is alive when he isn't, you're taking in this heathen who tried your life more than once, and you continue to get out of bed, though Mulligan told you not to do so. You will be your own undoing."

"Then it will be so."

Ryoko glared at him and started up the stairs, bringing Mei Lin with her.

"_Domo_," Mei Lin muttered as they reached the third floor. Ryoko was walking slower, grimacing. '_Maybe Mulligan's right_,' she thought to herself. '_Although, Elizabeth's due in April and she's just fine_.'

Ryoko made arrangements for Mei Lin to stay in her room and a cot was put beside her bed. She never even thought that it might be a stupid idea to put Mei Lin so close to where she slept, never thought that Mei Lin might take revenge for Scarlette's "getting Jack".

She began to help the girl learn English. Within a week, Mei Lin was speaking better, not so monosyllabic anymore. Her accent improved a little and soon, she was speaking well enough to hold a conversation. Elizabeth commended Ryoko for this.

"I tried to get Angelique to speak English but she didn't take to it," she told her. "Instead, we had to speak French. I was lucky because I already knew how but a few of the other servants still flounder with her."

Mei Lin smiled. "I can speak Chinese, Japanese, and English now, well, some English."

"I taught her the stuff like good morning and such by telling her the Japanese first," Ryoko explained. "I don't speak any Chinese, and just a little Japanese, but I knew enough to help with a few things. The rest will come in time."

Mei Lin began to sing and Ryoko laughed. "I know _that _song." And she joined in. It was all in Chinese and Elizabeth was impressed. They stopped and began laughing. Mei Lin was genuine and Scarlette knew it.

…

Barbossa stabbed one of the fleeing men and laughed as he did it. The ship was his. "Lock them in the brig! As many that will come peacefully, take 'em!" He had only the cursed men doing the dirty work. Soon, everyone was either dead or in the brig. The ship was his. He had all the English pirates head into the privateer, taking some of the stores with them. He left the Chinese helmsman in charge of _the Dragon_.

"We're off to have her colors stripped," he announced. It didn't take them long to reach the next port where Barbossa hired a man to change the lettering on the back of the ship from _The Avenger_ to _The Opal's Revenge_.

"_We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot_," Barbossa stated. "God, I hate that song, but whoever wrote it sure knows their stuff."

He never paid the man, not in money, anyhow.

…

_The Pearl_, on its way to Charleston, received news of _the Dragon_. Whatever ship _the Dragon _met, was taken. _The Pearl _had yet to come up against this Chinese flagship but Anamaria deliberately steered clear of the ships course, not wishing to meet her. She knew part of _the Pearl_'s luck had been with Jack and his random urges and maneuvers. No one could sail as fine as he could, but he was missing in action.

Some of the crew wanted to go up against _the Dragon _and the other ship, as of yet, the name unheard, just to put them in their place, but Anamaria was firm, Gibbs and quite a few others agreeing with her. You didn't tempt fate by going after ships like _the Dragon_.

They went into port and loaded up on cargo but didn't stay. Anamaria knew of a smaller port about twenty miles down the coast, which would be an easier target.

They arrived some time in the night and flooded into the town, sacking the small defenseless village silly. They had drink, money, and all manner of other miscellaneous articles that had caught their fancy in the raid. Anamaria was happy, finally getting a larger share, being the captain. She still couldn't open the cabin door, but she was captain of the ship.

…

Lizzy went to David the next day and told him she had decided. He smiled in anticipation and told Will that he was planning to take Lizzy out on the sea the next day. Will nodded, glad that he knew where she would be and not have to worry when or if she didn't come home right away.

The winds were chilly and it was the beginning of February. Lizzy shivered both from the cold and in eagerness. She knew that this decision was irreversible and would change her life forever.

David and she descended to the water on a rowboat, leaving the ship behind. Once they were quite a distance from the ship, they dove.

The descent was quite different this time, seeing as they weren't following the slope of the cliff wall. The water darkened sooner than before and Lizzy was only reassured by the scaly hand clamped in hers, pulling her along.

They entered the city again, Tyre Nizith unfolding beneath her human vision. She wondered for the last time if she were doing the right thing by staying with David. He was DJ and they were going to get married anyway, but she still felt strange about doing this. All her doubts were wiped away when he smiled at her. They entered the room with the kelp hangings on the door and he opened up a book, perusing the pages.

_Ah, here it is_, he said, his voice sounding inside her head. He turned to her. _Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? There's no going back once this is done_.

She nodded, not able to speak to him. She squeezed his hand for reassurance and he smiled, revealing tiny fangs where his canines usually were. He pulled her over to the book and pointed. The page was written in strange symbols for which she lacked a name. They resembled runes but weren't quite the same. He began to read the incantation, the water beginning to shine around them. The bubbles raced up towards the ceiling, carrying the light upwards. He finished the incantation with a flourish to his voice and a loud boom raced through the water, Lizzy feeling it in her gut.

She looked down at herself in amazement as her clothing peeled off. Her hair grew longer, turning a purple so dark it was almost black. She could feel the scales growing from her skin with an itching sensation. Her fingernails sprouted and she felt a sharp pain behind her ears. She felt the spot and discovered she'd grown gills. Her legs melted together, the texture of her skin changing, the color darkening to a brilliant violet. Soon, she was all mermaid except for her eyes, which remained a brownish hazel. As David looked into her eyes, they flashed and changed to a brilliant fuchsia hue.

_Well_, he said nervously. _What do you think_?

_This is amazing_! she exclaimed, holding up one of her hands in front of her, looking at her claws. She spread her fingers to see the faint webbing between them. _That's interesting_.

She turned back to David. _I was always curious as to how mermaids bore their offspring_?

_Oh_, David blushed, don't ask me how because I'm not sure. _We can choose to lay eggs or have them as humans do. It's less painful to lay eggs, I've heard, not that I would know_.

She giggled, a few bubbles floating from her mouth as she laughed. They circled each other and swam through the city together.

…

Okay, here's the plan. The premier for the next Pirates movie (yes, there's gonna be a sequel!) is sometime in 2005 (06, we know now). I want to get a group together to go down to California en masse and go to DL! We can dress up (maybe) or whatever, but we have to start planning and start saving up now. In the summer of 2005, I'll be 19, so chaperonage won't be a problem. I'm going no matter what 'cause I've got buddies down there but if you want to bring this together, we need to start planning. (Of course, I'm speaking to the readers who personally know me but if any of you net readers want to come, you're welcome to join our party if you'd like. You might actually get to meet characters in the story!)

Mungojerry; No 'un cares 'bout your characters. They all wan ta meet them pirate blokes.

Jack; you're probably right Jerry, but it won't hurt to ask. So yeah, if you want to meet up with us, give us a time and place (i.e. 12:30 at the Jungle Cruise or something similar.) If you've been there before, it'll be easier but if you live in like Michigan or something, it'll be tougher.

Stay in touch though. We'll figure something out.

**Revisited 1-17-07 3:41 am**


	17. Chapter XVI : What's Love Bloody Got

So ye be seakin' salty ol' pirates eh? Well ye come to the right place.

~Pirates of the Caribbean, intro after passing the Bayou. CA DL

News! You can have your very own ring, just like the one in the story! The Pirate shop at Disneyland has them, or did at least, for only a dollar. I don't know if they're still selling them.

**Chapter XVI –What's Bloody Love Got to Do With it? **

It was the middle of April and Scarlette hadn't left her bed in days. Mulligan was finally pleased with her, though she was angry. She was not due for another two months but already she was feeling weak. '_Damn kids_,' she thought. '_They're literally a pain even before they're born. I can't wait for it to move out already_.'

Even though she knew she was stuck, she didn't think she was ready to be a parent. She was positively terrified and even more so because she didn't know where Jack was. What if he came back after the kid was born? Or what if he never came at all? What if he really _was dead_?

She pushed that thought from her mind, adamantly refusing to believe it. When February came along, she'd even begun doubting his return.

Lizzy and David had come back a few days ago, announcing that they were engaged. Scarlette was not surprised, cheering Lizzy on. At least she loved the man.

Which brought Scarlette to her own feelings. Did she love Jack? She was sure even more than her belief of him being alive, that she did not. She was incapable of love, wasn't she? Then why the hell did she smile every time she thought of him? It was infuriating!

She'd given up on the morality of the situation. Everyone thought they were married, which made it all right in their eyes, but still made her uncomfortable. Of course, this was a different time period. It was not easy to find records here, not that anyone would try. Marriage was just one of those things that made life more difficult. One thing was for certain, she wouldn't need to act anymore. There would be a physical proof that would be easy to hide behind.

She had of course had the thought that Jack had won. He'd gotten what he wanted from her. Maybe he was finished with her, now having what he'd needed her to help him 'find'. She kept all these thoughts to herself, not wanting to discuss them even with Bootstrap who knew all about the damn prophecy. She would keep her secrets.

She knew though that there was still some secret between Bootstrap and Jack that they were hiding from her, however. She didn't like the haunted look Bootstrap got in his eyes every time he looked out to sea and though she desperately wanted to know, she didn't ask.

It was April 12th, give or take a few days when she decided to have a walk down to the docks. She wasn't sure why. She dressed in red to spite everyone and let her hair flow along her neck. It had grown back almost entirely and looked lovely under the proper care. She fastened her black cloak around her shoulders, making sure it shrouded her completely. She looked in the mirror for the first time in days and frowned. She was very pale, not like her normal, almost golden hue. She used the rouge to help a bit, giving her the appearance of some sort of porcelain figure.

Mei Lin came up the stairs and saw her getting dressed. She began to speak rapidly in a hybrid of English and Japanese, a language with which she knew Scarlette to be familiar. She had been told several times that Scarlette didn't speak that much of it but it seemed she had forgotten.

"_Anata _cannot go out! _Nani_? You must stay here."

"I need some fresh air, Mei Lin," Scarlette told her. "I've been good for a few days now and I'm feeling just peachy. Are you going to help me get out of here or not?"

"_Hai_, I will help you."

"Good. _Arigatou_."

They walked down the stairs, Mei Lin causing a commotion in the dining room by pretending to trip on one of the chairs. Scarlette slipped out of the door unnoticed and started off for the docks.

Someone saw her, however, and decided to follow.

…

"I am going to kill that little twit, Puggy, and his friend Jean-Claude," the man muttered, looking down at the floor of the sloop, which was quickly taking on water. He slid down the jib line to the deck and began to bail out the scuppers. He passed the cay which held Captain Calico Jack Rakham and the sign, "Pyrates, ye be warned", the sloop steadily heading toward the dock, taking on more and more water. He only nodded to Calico Jack's skeleton, bailing out more of the assaulting water.

"This is futile. I should have known that from the start," he groaned. He gave a decisive look to shore and decided. "What the hell. Why not?" He grabbed the jib line and ascended the mast painfully.

…

The sun was coming out finally and the heat was returning to Port Royal. Scarlette walked easily down to the docks, unaware that she was being followed. She skirted the doctor's office, taking a different road so as not to be discovered and suddenly, she was there. She breathed in the brackish air with relief, glad to be outside as opposed to cooped up in her room.

She leaned happily against one of the stone lookouts, closing her eyes for a minute. She opened them and gasped, finding herself face to face with Jadent.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him angrily. "You followed me, didn't you?"

He smiled at her, his eyes narrowing with unshed mirth. "Is it wrong of me to want to watch out for you?"

"I suppose not, if that's why you followed me," she told him, pushing off the tower wall and moving farther down the wooden pier. He continued to follow her, now to her knowledge.

"What do you want?" she asked him, turning to face him. "What can I do to get you to leave me alone?"

"You can say '_Yes_,'," he told her. "Then I would stop bothering you."

She sighed and turned on her heel, quickly moving down the dock. "Go away, Jadent. I already told you why I won't marry you."

She was nearing the end of the dock when he roughly grabbed her shoulders and turned her halfway around. He had come up beside her and was shaking her rudely.

"Jack is dead, dammit," he hissed harshly. "What will it take for you to accept that? He isn't coming back. Just say _yes _and this will all be avoided."

"Jadent," she told him bluntly. "You are hurting my arms. Please let go."

He shook her again. "Not until you agree, dammit." His fingers dug into her upper arms, bringing tears to her eyes. She was saved further abuse by a hand that lightly tapped Jadent's shoulder.

"What the—?" SPLASH!

…

The merchants and sailors on shore or in their own boats stared at him as the sloop went down. He was perched precariously upon the crow's nest, his left hand securely holding onto the mast, his right resting on his hip. It would be a close thing but some had seen the show before.

The sloop's hull scraped against the sand and grit beneath the shallows and gave a shudder as it came to a halt at the dock. He calmly stepped off the crows nest onto the dock, earning several cheers from the sailors. He flipped the man at the dock a shilling and continued on his way. He noticed a tall man with long blond hair arguing with a petite woman in a black cloak and decided he'd better intervene. The man was getting physical with the woman.

As he drew nearer, he knew exactly what he was going to do, for he had caught some of their conversation.

He frivolously tapped the man's shoulder, causing his attention to switch from the girl to him.

"What the—?" he let fly with a blow that took the man across the jaw, sending him reeling into the water surrounding the dock. His body made a splash and the man sunk out of sight. A sailor or two jumped in after him to make sure the man was alive. The girl turned to the newcomer.

Scarlette blinked to clear her eyes but the picture did not change. Was it? Could it really be? She reached out a hand to touch his face and gasped when her fingertips made contact. He put a hand over hers and smiled.

"Sir!" the dock manager exclaimed. "I'll need your name!"

"Sparrow," he told him. "Captain Jack Sparrow."

His air was promptly squeezed from his lungs as she enfolded him in an embrace. He smiled at her and she let him go. Jadent was pulled sputtering from the water, his face red and his temper ignited.

"Who's the codfish that nailed me? Where is he?" Jadent looked around angrily

and his eyes settled on Jack. He choked on his air for a moment, not believing the sight before him. "You're supposed to be dead!"

Jack grinned rakishly. "Sorry to disappoint you, Jadent. I trust you would have enjoyed filling my spot." He put a possessive arm around Scarlette. She was giving Jadent an airy glance.

He looked frustrated but didn't do anything rash. He glared at Jack and walked off, not towards the Turner house, but to _The Green Dragon_. Apparently, he needed a drink.

Scarlette turned to Jack and began angrily shouting at him. "Where in the hell have you been! Why would you make me worry so much and not send a letter or something? Everyone thought you were dead! Do you have any idea how bad I felt thinking you'd never come back?"

"Oh, luv," he grinned, throwing open his arms. "I didn't know you cared!"

She slapped him, not as hard as she might have, but enough to get his attention. "Of course I cared, you idiot! Why wouldn't I care if you died?" she was crying now and Jack, rubbing his face, took the hand with which she'd slapped him.

"I am absolutely positive I deserved that," he told her. "I'll explain when we get to Will's house. It's all right, luv. I won't leave again. Do you have my affects?"

"Of course," she answered, wiping her tears away. "They're in my room. Barbossa brought them himself."

"I take it you shot him," Jack stated. She nodded. He grinned again. "Scarlette; we are going to kill that damned captain whether he's immortal or not."

She nodded and he put an arm around her, leading her back to Will's house.

"My, you've come along," Jack noticed. "That's why you're wearing the cloak. I _was_ wondering."

Scarlette smiled despite his teasing. "As much as that comment annoys me, I'm glad you're back."

"It was almost as if you were waiting for me."

…

Elizabeth became angry when she saw Scarlette's empty bed. She had been doing well, not getting up and listening to the doctor for nearly a week. Elizabeth stormed downstairs and was about to tell Will when she caught sight of something out the front window.

"Will!" she exclaimed. "Come quick!" and just as he was skidding into the room, she fainted, Will just barley catching her in time.

Of course, her scream had the girls coming as well, which brought Topher with Robin and David with Lizzy. They all bombarded Will with questions.

"Is the baby coming?" Robin exclaimed. "Should we go get Mulligan?"

"Quick! Do something or she might go into labor," Claudia said speedily.

Bootstrap was backing away from the congregation of women, glancing outside for just a moment. He did a double take, his jaw dropping.

"Mary Mother of Styrofoam," he whispered loudly. "Is that who I think it is?"

They didn't have long to wait. There was a knock on the door and everyone scrambled to open it, Kristin getting there first. She wrenched open the heavy door and everyone gasped.

Jack Sparrow sauntered into the house, Scarlette under his arm, both smiling at the group. Robin swayed a bit but didn't fall, gripping Topher's arm. Lizzy sat down hard on the floor, her skirts pooling around her. Angelique fainted, taking Claudia down with her as the girl attempted to catch her.

Will was just staring, his face much the same as when he'd found out about Elizabeth's pregnancy.

Jack grinned at him. "Will, are you trying to catch flies with your mouth? Surely you didn't think I was dead, did you?"

"Jack!" Bootstrap exclaimed. "Forgive me for stating the obvious, but you're alive!"

"Sssh," Jack said playfully. "We wouldn't want Barbossa to hear you and seeing as you just shouted it to the world, he might know already. I suppose I must elaborate. Everyone to the parlor it is. I'll give you a story to raise your hackles."

"Let's get Elizabeth settled first," Scarlette motioned. Jack looked down at the unconscious woman.

"Oh. Right."

…

Once everyone was seated with a drink in his or her hand and the girls who'd fainted had been revived, Jack began to speak.

"Well, I had a good plan, really I did, and it almost worked the way I wanted it, but not quite, you see, here's what I thought." He took a swig of the bottle he'd been given and swallowed audibly. "I hadn't expected Barbossa to leave the harbor. My plan had been to swim to shore after grabbing the whelp I'd fixed up. You see, a few days before going onto Barbossa's ship, I'd taken one of his men out for a little stroll, getting the poor boy incredibly drunk. We'd staked a duel, where I sliced up his arm, like so," Jack pulled up his left sleeve and showed off his scars. There were gasps and a few questions but he waved it all away.

"That taken care of, I gave him drink until he passed out, or was very near to doing so. I paid a man to give him a tattoo similar to mine, just to help matters should Barbossa ever find the body. I had told the whelp, no, not you Will, to make sure he was on deck to witness my death, knowing very well that Barbossa would have him hold me when the time came. He had a habit of choosing the younger men to do this.

"Well, when I boarded, he ordered the men to sail out and before I knew it, my plan had sunk. The sharks were all over the place and I couldn't see much of an out. He shot me," Jack stated all of a sudden. He moved his right hand to his left lapel and pushed aside his coat and vest, the blouse unfolding on its own. There was a bandage across his left shoulder, tied tightly to hold pressure to his wound. He peeled back the swaddling strips and showed them the hole.

It was about the size of a fifty-cent piece, the skin dark, the texture rough. Jack was breathing slightly strained, but not many but those nearest to him could see it. Scarlette was right next to him and could tell that the wound was still hurting. She felt a tad guilty for she might have hurt him when she hugged him.

"I managed to pull the man over with me as I fell to the shark infested water," Jack told them, reliving the terrifying experience.

{FLASHBACK}

_ They both hit the water, the impact making the liquid shoot up towards the ship. Jack and Paddy floundered as Jack looked around, frightened. Paddy was unconscious but not wounded. Jack's blood was wafting throughout the water like a smoky red ribbon. He lifted his hands in front of him, remembering that they were still bound._

_ He gripped Paddy's dagger in his hands and cut the bond, using his knees to hold the blade. The pulling motion used to snap the ropes made the dagger flounder and begin to sink. Fishing for it in the water, he turned the dagger on its unconscious owner. The cut across Paddy's stomach let forth a great wash of blood, making Jack's wound look like child's play in comparison. The sharks were going insane with hunger, brushing against Jack, sending him reeling._

_ He finally came to his senses and dove deep. He could hold his breath for over a minute and a half so diving below the sharks was not a problem. Sharks attack from below and he knew this. He was faintly aware of the man being torn to bits above him, the dark liquid blocking out the rays of the moon. Jack swam to the other side of the ship and managed to drag himself up into the bilgy, barricading himself behind a brace of cannons, throwing an old canvas over the top of him. He was bleeding badly._

_ The irony of him riding back to safety on the very ship that killed him was not beyond him. He was very careful not to be seen as the ship docked and the pirates returned to the city. Jack crawled out of the bilgy, wracked with pain and fear of being discovered, and fell back into the water. He was dragged out by a French angler who took him to one of the Bourbon street houses, to a woman Jack knew well._

_ He deliriously told the woman to tell no one of his existence. Everyone should believe him to be dead or the plan would not work._

_ It took him quite a while to recover enough to walk. The wound had to be disinfected and that ordeal had taken a lot out of Captain Jack. They had practically poured acid into his open flesh, or at least that's what it had felt like. Alcohol is unkind where pain is concerned._

_ And that was only half of it. The bullet had exited out his back, shattering his scapula on the left side. A renowned surgeon had been brought in secrecy to mend his shoulder, which had just been more pain, plus, disinfecting that. Jack had been around the block on the pain meter._

_ And then the body had been found. He hastened as soon as he was able to identify the body. He only needed to glance at it to know that it had been the boy. He told them it was his own body to further throw off the world as to his status._

_ It had taken him a month and a half to heal enough to walk, another month to be able to move his arm. After he had recovered this much, he began looking for a ship. Puggy, the women's valet and a most annoying character, had found one for him, though not in the greatest condition._

{END FLASHBACK}

"And so," Jack said finally. "After nearly four months, I am alive and well, contrary to popular belief it seems. Where are my affects? Angelique; _apportes moi mes affects, s'il te plait._ »

"You speak French now?" Scarlette exclaimed.

"No," Jack told her. "Just enough. I learned some while I was in bed, for lack of better things to do."

"You could have written," she insisted. "Then we would have known for sure. Even I began to doubt you'd ever come back and I dreamt about those sharks. No one would believe me even when I showed them the cabin door. It still wouldn't open to Anamaria."

"We get it," Robin stated from her seat next to Topher, of whose hand she was holding. They had gotten quite cozy in the last two months. "You can stop bragging already. We're sorry Jack. It's just that there was so much evidence against you that it seemed highly unlikely that you'd survived. Her ideas weren't making much sense, a magic door and a dream about you escaping a pack of sharks."

"What about the doctor's letter?" Will asked. "She did point out some things that were inconsistent."

A few nodded and Robin stayed quiet. It was Claudia who supplied the next comment.

"The doctor sent a very detailed letter to Norrington, but he may not have mentioned everything. No one was to know for sure."

"And what of _the Pearl_?" Jack asked the group. "Where is she now?"

"On her way to Charleston," Anita answered. "Anamaria's idea."

"Charleston you say?" he asked incredulously. "Why the hell are they going to Charleston, pardon my language."

Anita shrugged. Bootstrap nodded and answered. "Anamaria wanted to get out of the Caribbean until news of yer death died down."

"Now that the indefatigable Captain Jack Sparrow is dead, so to speak," Scarlette continued. "There are many going after _the Pearl_. She's, as you once said, the last real pirate threat in the Caribbean."

"It's a good word," he added, still thinking about 'indefatigable'. "Not as good as the Immortal Captain Jack Sparrow, but it's a good word. What was the other word? Styrofoam? That one I liked."

"So that's where I heard that word," Bootstrap said in an epiphany like voice. "I did wonder."

The future girls were shaking their heads.

Angelique came down the stairs with Jack's things. He happily stood and strapped them on piece by piece, noticing that the gun was loaded. He gave Scarlette a look and she shrugged. "So I learned how to use it. Is there a problem?"

"Not at all," Jack said. "It's only fitting that you should know, being around me all the time. You're speaking differently? I just noticed."

"You should have heard her when she came back from being with you," Claudia told him from across the room. "She sounded like you. Now she sounds like Elizabeth."

"Ah, yes," Jack agreed, sitting back down. "I knew I'd heard that nuance somewhere." He looked less than pleased but didn't continue on the subject.

There was another loud knock and this time, the butler went to open the door. It was none other than Commodore Norrington. Jack hung his head. He would have liked to keep his secret from the commodore but it was too late now.

Norrington nodded politely to the women, not looking at Robin and Topher, glancing to the other side of the room instead. His gaze fell on Jack and he stepped back in shock. "Sparrow? You're alive!"

"That's strange," Jack said, his brow furrowed. "You don't sound disappointed."

"I'm not, sir," Norrington told him honestly. "To tell you the truth, for Scarlette's sake, I am glad you have returned. What the devil took you so long?"

Jack, genuinely surprised, his eyes wide, smiled. "You just missed my story, Commodore. I'll tell you the condensed version. I was shot and nearly killed by Barbossa for a ransom and had to stay away for such a long time due to my injuries."

"Oh, I can't believe I forgot!" Scarlette exclaimed. "What of Elise?"

"She's safe," Jack answered. "Barbossa took a bit of your technique. He bluffed the whole thing. I made sure she had a guardian before I left, just in case Barbossa catches wind."

To his utter surprise, Scarlette hugged him again and burrowed her head in his neck. The situation was turned around for a moment and Jack was the one left attempting to keep a straight face.

Norrington smiled, something he had gotten used to doing more often. "The best of luck to you both." He turned to Elizabeth, who was looking quite pale beside Will. "And how are you faring, Mrs. Turner?"

"I think I may be ill very soon," she cried. "Will, please help me to my room." Will stood and she gripped his arm painfully. They walked agonizingly slowly over the carpet towards the stairs. As they were passing the doorway, Elizabeth suddenly cried out and slumped. There was a strange noise and the sense of liquid hitting the ground. Her water had broken, to say the least.

The men quickly averted their eyes. This was a woman's world and they were not supposed to know about these things, unless of course, they were a doctor. Will was frantic however. He picked her up easily and shouted to Norrington. "Fetch Mulligan! Quickly! There's no time." And with that, he ran up the stairs carrying his wife. Angelique, Estrella, Paula, and a few other servants followed him up with necessities such as towels and water.

Scarlette stood as quickly as her condition permitted, leaving Jack sitting on the sofa. She started at the bottom of the stairs and began making her way slowly up them. Mei Lin went to help her and it was the first time Jack had seen the Chinese girl. He had jumped up as soon as he saw her but something was strange. Mei Lin was dressed in European clothing and she wasn't the least bit hostile towards him. She meticulously helped Scarlette up the stairs and Jack followed.

"Should you be doin' that?" he asked her. She turned back to him.

"Mulligan will be very angry if he finds me down here dressed," she told him. "I'm going to change as quickly as I can and get into bed like nothing ever happened, to spare him the energy of yelling at me."

"Well, you're not getting anywhere like this," he told her, moving up beside her and lifting her. He nodded to Mei Lin who bowed to him and continued up the stairs. "Which way?"

"Put me down, Jack," she told him. "I can manage on level ground."

"Just tell me which bloody door," he exclaimed. She sighed and pointed. He walked over and set her down in front of the room she and Elizabeth shared. She opened the door and closed it behind her.

Will was sitting next to Elizabeth's bed, holding her hand while she breathed heavily. Scarlette slipped out of the dress and into a robe, Will too preoccupied to glance at her. She sat on the edge of her bed until Elizabeth glanced over, extending her other hand. Scarlette knew this meant a lot to her and dragged a chair over to the side of the bed. She slid her hand into Elizabeth's larger one and it seemed to calm the other woman a bit. A few moments later, Mulligan burst into the room along with the servants who were taking care of Elizabeth. He cleared Will out of the room and glanced at Scarlette.

"I believe your husband is alive, Mrs. Sparrow," he told her. "You've known this all along, haven't you?"

"Please, don't ask me questions today. Tend to Elizabeth."

Mulligan smiled slightly and called out the door. "It's all right, Mr. Sparrow. You may take her into the other room. I need to clear this one out." He made eye contact with Jack. "And make sure she doesn't leave the house anymore."

"Only if she'll let me, you mean," Jack answered, coming to the door. He went to Scarlette and picked her up again, not even waiting for her to protest. Mulligan shut the door again and Scarlette squirmed.

"I can walk, Jack," she told him. He ignored her and continued down the hallway, moving into their old room and setting her on the bed. She crossed her arms then. "How did he know I'd left? There's something weird about that doctor."

He crossed to the door and shut it, moving back to sit beside her. "How have you been?"

"What a question," she said bluntly. "Are you really concerned or are you just nosy?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Do you really find me that barbaric? Is it a strange question coming from a husband to a wife?"

"Jack!" she exclaimed but dropped her voice in case they were over heard. "We aren't married."

He grinned at her. "Well, we might as well be, given the circumstance." He placed a hand on her rounded stomach, bringing an exasperated sigh from her. He said the next quietly. "I find marriage to be a trivial thing at the best. All it is, a slip of paper, a ring, nothing very solid in the material world. Now I know you're just waiting to be rid of me and in two months, you'll be free to do as you please."

Her eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

He raised his eyebrows a bit, pursing his lips. "I'm saying you'll no longer be tied to me."

Her face became a mask. "In other words, you'll have no further use for me and you'll leave again."

He looked at her tersely. "If it suits me."

She felt a pang somewhere that she lacked a name for and she unconsciously began screaming. "Why?" Her voice still sounded calm as if she expected this. "Did you find someone else while you were gone?"

"No, nothing of the sort," he told her. "I have my own agenda and you just happen not to be on it." He mentally kicked himself. The game was pride, and neither one wanted to lose. Things would be said that no one meant in a game this hurtful.

Her face remained neutral. "I guess you don't keep your promises. Go ahead and leave, Jack. See if I care one bit about you. Go out and get yourself killed. I won't cry for you." She crossed her arms and turned away. She was lying through her teeth and she knew it. He hiked an eyebrow, having a slight hunch that what she spoke was not all she meant.

He left the room without any further words and shut the door again. When the knob clicked, Scarlette let her breath out shakily.

…

Jack walked down the road, a bit angrily. He was testing her. He had no intention of leaving again, not for a while. He just wanted to know what she was thinking and he was dismayed to find her colder towards him than when he'd left.

He was sure at the docks when she had hugged him and cried that she had warmed and found her heart, but now he was certain she'd lost it.

In short, he wanted her to feel for him at least a little. He felt slightly guilty, having the prophecy be fulfilled by a girl who didn't really like him all that much. Now, he was very angry indeed. She had buffed him off her armor like nothing, as if he were but an ant, a miniscule problem.

He went into _The Catt and Fiddle_ and ordered a flagon of rum. He wanted to think but no plans were coming to him. He didn't know how to control this girl. Anyone else, except maybe Elizabeth, was butter, melting at the slightest bit of heat, but Scarlette was different. The pirate's life had suited her well and Jack couldn't see her anywhere else. He realized that in his absence she had grown cold. The day he'd left, they were quite close but now, it was impossible. Had Elizabeth turned her?

"Jack, how do you bloody get yourself into these messes?"

"You bring it on yourself, man," a sage like voice told him. He turned around to face an older man.

"Oh, no," Jack said. "Not you."

…

Scarlette dabbed her eyes when the knock came. She would NOT cry. Why should she cry? Jack was just a friend, right? She didn't love him. He could leave if he wanted. It was no skin off her back. She didn't love him.

A voice inside her head was laughing at her. "_Then why are you bearing his child, dear?_"

"_Shut up!_" she told the voice. The knocking came again. "Who is it?" she asked, trying not to snap.

"It's Will."

"Come in," she told him, blinking to clear her mind. Will Turner opened the door and poked his head in. Sweat was beading on his brow and his hair was undone, falling in dark waves over his neck. There was evidence of perspiration on his clothes as well, the white shirt damp under his stiff blue vest.

"Elizabeth wants you," he said breathlessly. Scarlette stood from the bed and made her way to the room down the hall.

It seemed to be hotter in that room than the one she'd just left. She took the chair beside Elizabeth's bed and gripped her hand.

Elizabeth's hair was pooled around her head and her face was shiny with sweat. She managed a faint smile but cringed again, squeezing Scarlette's hand.

"Why isn't Will in here?" Scarlette asked Mulligan, feeling that she wasn't the person to be at her side.

"Because Will is not allowed to be in here," Mulligan answered curtly.

"But he is the father," Scarlette insisted.

Mulligan gave her a stare. "Mrs. Sparrow, many midwives allow everyone to come traipsing into a room when a woman is berthing. I am not one of these however. I am a doctor." He said this as if it put him high above the status of lowly midwives. "I brought you in because you are female, she asked for you specifically, and you will be in the same state in two more months. This is also a learning experience."

Scarlette decided to ignore Mulligan again. He was a jerk but he knew what he was talking about. The best she could do was ignore him and listen at the same time. No cheeky comments from the pirate. He gave her a look when she didn't talk anymore. "What, no snide remarks? No comments about how obviously deluded my assumptions are?"

She glared at him. "What is your problem with me? You were right. I am about ready to burst because I got knocked up. Is that what you wanted to hear? Will you leave me alone and focus on her now?"

He laughed and turned back to Elizabeth, not speaking to Scarlette, but his tone and expression enough to boil her blood.

She stayed where she was but held Elizabeth's hand as the contractions grew more frequent. Elizabeth nearly broke her hand with every wave of fresh pain and Scarlette was positive she wouldn't be able to use her right hand for a few days afterwards. She was too kind however to take it away. She merely switched hands.

At 7:48 according to the wall clock, Elizabeth and Will became parents. Mulligan handed the squalling red creature to Estrella to wash and put a fresh washcloth on Elizabeth's forehead.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Turner," he told her. "You have a healthy, and particularly annoying son." Elizabeth was crying, whether with pain or with joy, Scarlette couldn't tell, probably both. She continued to hold her hand as she cried.

Scarlette was unaware of it, but tears were falling from her own eyes as well. The heat of the room had caused everyone to sweat and the warm sensation of tears falling from her eyes didn't register.

When the doctor put the child into Elizabeth's arms, Scarlette schooled her face. Elizabeth began crying more profusely, staring into the little thing's scrunched up face. "He's absolutely adorable."

Scarlette disagreed privately, thinking the child looked a bit like a goblin with its large eyes and flat nose, but who was she to argue with the happy mother. Will was allowed in the room finally to see his son, William Weatherby Turner, just as Claudia had said he'd be. Scarlette left, not wanting to intrude, leaving Will and Elizabeth to gush over their new child. She grabbed the scissors on her way to put them back in the drawer in the other room. She passed Bootstrap on the way out.

"Congratulations, Bill," she told him blandly. "You are now a grandfather."

He heard her flat tone and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's amiss, lass?"

She realized she had been showing her emotions from earlier in the day. "Nothing to do with you," she assured him. "Nothing at all." Bootstrap shrugged and went into the room. She then nearly ran into Mulligan who was cleaned up and holding his bag. He gave her one of those haughty smirks.

She glared at him, pissed, in pain, and ready to hurt someone. "Why the hell are you giving me that smug look? Trust me, doc. I am not in the mood to be fucked with. Piss me off, and I _will_ hurt you."

"Oh, I'm just gloating. I love being right. I noticed you didn't seem very impressed with the bloody monster. That's not very feminine."

She snapped then, all her anger from that day focusing in one point. Her temper flared and she stabbed the scissors she was still carrying into his right thigh. She didn't even bother to see if he was all right after that, but walked past him into her room. Before she shut the door, she spoke. "I warned you." She shut the door and Mulligan shouted after her.

"That wasn't very feminine, either!" He looked down at his leg, rather unconcerned despite the blood falling from where the scissors were embedded. He sighed and pulled them out, dropping them on the floor. "Great. This is going to be _fun_." He limped off, not bothering to clean up the blood left behind. It dried into a dark tacky black puddle before anyone noticed it.

Scarlette fell asleep early without eating dinner. Jack returned later that night, quite out of breath from out maneuvering a certain memory come back to bite him in the ass.

…

The next day, she woke next to Jack, something she hadn't been expecting. She left him sleeping in the room and dressed herself, including the cloak. She slipped out of the house unnoticed and walked down to the western side of Port Royal. She didn't want to be disturbed and she knew she would be if she stayed in the house. What she didn't know was that Mulligan was visiting the house to check up on little Will and her, while he was at it.

He limped up to the house with a new cane, favoring his right leg, about an hour after she'd left and was satisfied with the child, which was screaming healthily and driving everyone nuts, his little face screwed up, all red and furious with his lock of brown hair. He then made his way across the hall to the room Jack and Scarlette were occupying. He knocked once, not getting an answer.

"Open the door!" he shouted, knocking harder. The door was opened by a blinking Jack, who had a confused look on his sleepy face.

"What do you want, man?" he grunted.

"I'm here to check up on Scarlette."

Jack glanced behind him. "Sorry mate. You missed her. She must have slipped off while I was asleep."

Mulligan threw the door open with his cane, making sure Jack wasn't hiding her. He turned angrily to storm down the stairs and had to limp. Jack frowned. "What happened to you?"

Mulligan looked down at his leg. "I have a particularly uncooperative child." That was all he said about it, and he struggled down the stairs. He interrogated several of the girls and maids but no one knew anything. Jack had dressed fully and come down by then and Mulligan turned on him.

"You do realize that with every day she decides to ignore my orders she endangers herself and the child, do you not?"

Jack looked at him skeptically. "With all due respect doctor. She won't listen to me. She needs some other motivation to keep her under wraps."

"Well, I suggest you think of something or you're going to loose both of them, Mr. Sparrow," with that, Mulligan left the house, limping away painfully. Jack stood for a moment, debating what to do. He sighed and started for the town.

…

Scarlette sat by herself, surrounded by palm fronds and salt-water tamarisks. She wanted to be alone and she'd succeeded. No one was likely to come here.

She sat with her knees drawn up as far as they would go considering her condition. Glaring out into the water, she could tear apart her mind.

Jack was going to leave as soon as he saw fit and probably not take her with him, even though he had said upon his arrival that he wouldn't leave her again. She hated herself for it, but that bothered her. It significantly pained her to think Jack would leave her yet again. There would be nothing keeping him here, not even the child, which he would probably take with him. He wasn't married to her and he didn't love her.

She closed her eyes as the tears fell from them. No, he didn't love _her_.

He knew where she had gone because it was a place he would have chosen to be alone as well. He moved as quietly as he could and sidled in beside her. He saw her tears and understood like no other could.

She had obviously lied to him about not giving a rat's ass. What else could make her cry? Jadent hadn't come anywhere near and everyone else was being kind to her so he deducted that it must have been his fault. Most things were.

He put an arm around her but she violently shook him off. "Go away, Jack." She hadn't even looked at him but she knew who it was. She could tell by the way he breathed, by the hesitant touch, by his approaching footsteps, and by the feeling in her throat. She knew him utterly, and yet, she didn't know a thing.

"I won't," he told her. "Not unless you're coming with me."

"Why?" she asked him stubbornly, turning her face away.

"Because," he told her simply. "I can't let you stay out here in your condition. Mulligan woke me up this mornin' and he was not a happy doctor."

"Great. How long do we have before we have to skip town?"

"What?" Jack frowned, looking at her in an interested manner. "We aren't going anywhere."

She looked at him then. "What did he say?"

"That he'd come to check up on you. What else would he have said?"

Scarlette sighed. "How's his leg?"

Jack's eyebrows nearly went through the roof. "_You _did that to him?"

She sighed. "I wasn't in the mindset to deal with anyone and he was being an ass! I lost my temper. Funny thing is, he didn't seem at all surprised or even angry about it … I was afraid maybe he'd go to Norrington and have us thrown out of port."

Jack blinked. "Well, in that case, best go back and have a look. He wants to see you."

"So, what," she answered. "It's not as if you really listen to what he says."

"More than certain people …" he left the statement open. She looked up at him, her green eyes wet.

"So? I don't care."

"_So_," Jack continued. "He said that every day, you become worse and if you keep doing this," he motioned to the sky. "You might die, along with the child within you. And I'll have you know, I listen to him better than you do, or I wouldn't be out here."

She turned to look at him. "So that's what you came out here for. If I died and the _child _lived, you'd be just fine. You don't care a wink about me except that I provide you an heir to your riches."

Jack looked at her and wanted to correct her but didn't say a word. Not yet, at least. He let her continue.

"You are just what Elizabeth said you were, a selfish cad, out for your own. You'd betray me if it fit your blasted agenda, damn you."

"And if you truly didn't care," Jack said slowly. "Then you wouldn't be so angry. I'll tell you now, I care enough about you not to want you dead, and it's not the child. My blood is as red as yours and my heart just as warm."

"Then why are you leaving?" she asked, her tears falling again. She pushed herself to her feet and walked away from him. He followed her, talking all the while.

"I know you think me heartless, luv," he spoke, following her as she walked down the beach on the backside of the cay. "But you haven't even given me any inclination to stay here with you. I think you're just as heartless as I. You don't care if I leave, you said so yourself. Will you stop moving!" He grabbed her shoulder and she whirled to face him, the cloak swinging open on the left side. His hand went to her left arm and she flinched in pain.

He looked confused until he felt along the slit of her sleeve. He lifted it a bit, revealing the burn on her arm.

"Where did you get that?"

She wrenched her arm from his grip, allowing the cloak to fall back into place. "You know nothing about me Jack. Just go." She turned and began walking in the opposite direction.

"I know," he shouted after her, moving again to follow her. "I know that you don't care one bit about me except that I take you with me so you don't have to stay here and listen to Elizabeth nag about how women are supposed to act and such. You don't care for me except that I rescue you from this boring life. It's you who are heartless, luv. You don't even like me anymore."

"Jack," she turned to face him, her eyes slightly red, the green of them watery. "I don't expect you to believe me or even care, but … _I love you_. I hope you're satisfied." She turned and started off again, not looking back. She hated herself for it and she hated him as well, mostly because she didn't. He watched her walk off, her black cloak flapping in the spring breeze like a cape.

Scarlette never made it to the house.

He heard her anguished scream and took off running towards the sound, following her erratic footprints until he came in sight of her.

She was sitting on the sand, her arms thrown up over her head and there were two horsemen riding around her, tossing stones.

"This ought ta teach ya not ta mess wit' the Billingtons," one of them shouted, tossing another stone at her. She shouted angrily, picking up another stone and throwing it back with as much energy as she could muster in her weakened state.

The other rider grabbed one of her arms and dragged her a few yards. She screamed in fury and he dropped her to the ground.

Jack remembered hearing their names after Scarlette had first fallen ill. She had knocked one of them off his horse because he'd been chasing Eric. Jack didn't wait for any more provocation. He pulled out his pistol, aimed carefully and fired at the one who'd dragged her.

The ball took him in the chest, boring a hole straight to his heart. The older brother fell off the horse and lay on the sand, dead, his blood congealing in the gritty ground.

The younger brother dismounted from his horse and aimed at Jack with his own pistol. Neither of the Billington boys were very good shots and the bullet bit into the sand a few feet from Jack, harmless. Jack ran at him before he could reload and the younger son bolted. He skidded to a halt behind Scarlette, yanking her to her feet and holding a knife to her throat.

Jack had already poured in the powder and primed his pistol, the ball inside the barrel. He cocked it and pointed it at the younger boy, steadily walking closer.

"You come any closer," the boy told him. "And she dies. My father is very powerful and won't let me be convicted of anything."

"Let her go and maybe your father will see you again, which is more than I can say for the other," Jack told him coldly.

The boy just shook his head. "I ain't trustin' you. Drop your weapon and I'll let her go."

"Boy, I can drop you from here," Jack told him. "You'll not be able to so much as nick her before you go down but I'd rather not test that theory. Let her go and you go as well."

The brother decided he'd rather live another day and he let Scarlette go. She sank to the sand, brought a languid hand to her throat and fell unconscious.

The boy ran to get his horse, riding off quickly. Jack grabbed the other horse and calmed him. He went and scooped up Scarlette and perched her carefully on the saddle.

Before he pulled himself up, he spoke to the horse. "I'm terribly sorry about the blighter who used to ride you but I need your assistance. Please don't buck us off." And he put his foot in the stirrup and swung into the saddle.

He managed to steer the horse and hold Scarlette up, and the horse took off at a plodding pace, Jack sighing in relief. "This isn't as hard as I thought, at slow, nay, sluggish paces."

He arrived at the Turner house with a full brigade waiting for him. He was allowed to carry Scarlette into the house before they dragged him off to the jail.

Port Royal was no longer a safe zone for Captain Jack Sparrow.

…

Scarlette awoke in her bed alone, her head hurting. She couldn't seem to move and after a few futile attempts at sitting up, she gave in. Slumping back, she called out to anyone who might be listening. "Hello?"

It was Will who answered her. He came in and kneeled by her. "Are you all right?"

"Can you help me sit up?"

He did so and soon she was looking around dizzily. "Where's Jack?"

Will looked down quickly, then back at her. "He's being held for murder."

"What?" she exclaimed. "That is ridiculous! That moron _deserved _to be shot!"

Will looked abashed. "You'll probably be needed as a witness but you are not to be moved. Jack's trial is to be held in a week."

"A week?" she repeated. "That Billington brat and I were the only other ones there. I _have _to be present."

Will looked uncertain but nodded. Mulligan entered the room and began doing his check up.

"I hope you're happy, Mrs. Sparrow," he fretted. "I'd say you're now only a month away. You're pushing yourself too far. You are, under no circumstances, to leave this bed, understand?"

"But, no!" she insisted. "You don't understand! The trial! I have to attend or he might hang!"

"No!" he said adamantly. "I am really tired of you telling me I don't understand. To leave anymore might bring on contractions early and that would be very bad. Will; you are under _no circumstances_ to let her out of this room. I will be heeded, understand? No more of this gallivanting around when she's ready to pop. Jack won't be here to control her so you're going to have to do it."

Will nodded nervously and Scarlette glared at the wall. Mulligan, satisfied, left the house.

"Will," she said. He turned to her in slight fear. "Do me a favor. Go get Norrington. I need to talk to him."

…

Jack leaned against the stone wall of the familiar cell. He had noticed the old assassin gang in one cell and he'd hidden his face from them. That was the last thing he needed, for his enemies to know he was alive. Luckily, the prisoners awaiting trial were in a different place than the prisoners awaiting the gallows.

Of course, a trial in a town like Port Royal was a joke, or had been to what he'd experience so far. He assumed that an officer of the Navy or Company Marinese Heeaisdhasjdhaksdh would get a fair ruling, but he was a pirate. He would hang unless some miracle saved him.

He had spent two nights in the cell when Norrington came to speak to him.

"Jack, why did you do it?" he asked solemnly. "I actually feel guilty about having to hang you."

"Then don't," Jack told him simply. "I did what I thought was appropriate. He was mistreating Scarlette and according to Mulligan, she's been pushed up a month because of it. Can you blame me for shooting the tard?"

"Certainly your motive was respectable," Norrington said carefully. "But again I am bound by the law."

"Some law," Jack grunted, pulling his hat down over his eyes. "A law that doesn't protect its women."

"Mr. Billington is a wealthy man," Norrington told Jack. "One of his sons has been killed. You can be sure that he will spare no expense at getting you hung."

"Ah, so the commodore can be bribed, is that it?" Jack goaded. "It's all falling into place. What is the price for appearing reputable, I wonder?"

"Mr. Sparrow," he told him. "I will not be bribed, I will not be threatened. Do not cast on me such vile traits."

Jack didn't reply and Norrington left the area.

…

The trial took place a week from the day he'd shot the boy. He had argued his point and gotten nods from the crowd but the money was in someone else's' bag. The judge was being bribed and Jack was convicted. Scarlette was locked in her room for the duration of the trial, no matter that she shouted up a storm and threatened to jump out the window. Bootstrap was placed outside said window to keep her from attempting the trellis.

That night, Jack was locked in a different cell, one in the "waiting" block, and his affects were once again hung on the peg by the door. The four assassins in their cell didn't even glance at him.

Late in the night, the door to the block opened and someone entered. Jack had expected Will or Bootstrap but the man waiting at the door was totally unpredictable.

"Sparrow," he said softly. "You'd better be gone by morning, and don't go to Turner's house, at least not immediately. I'll be expecting a letter from you, telling me where _not_ to search, do I make myself clear?"

"Inescapably," Jack muttered, standing from his corner. "Thank you, Commodore. I won't forget this." Norrington disappeared down the hall and Jack waited at least ten minutes before making his escape. He debated whether letting the other swabs out but decided he had enough on his hands right now. He stole away from Fort Charles, knocking on Will's door.

Jack never left that house but Norrington fabricated a fake witness who had seen "that wretch, Sparrow" sailing off to Calcutta. He and several of his men embarked on a ship destined for the land of the cutthroats.

Jack was confined to the house for a while and Scarlette began to recover from her shock.

It was only a matter of time.

…

Jack, until now, never mentioned her confession, but he sure had thought about it. Did she really love him? In that case, he'd be damned if he left, though it wasn't the first time he'd heard those words spoken to him.

She didn't look him in the eye anymore. She was afraid of him in a sense, knowing he probably thought her silly for her ructions. It was not until one night that he brought it up.

One thing was for sure, he had the proof he needed to not feel guilty. If she loved him, she wouldn't hate him for the child. He wasn't just using her for that. He fully intended to take her with him when he left eventually. As much as he teased her about only needing her for one thing, he had grown a bit fond of her. He enjoyed having someone around who would propose a challenge at every corner.

But Jack was a closed system. He would never tell her but a fraction of these things. To do otherwise would trap him and to have her know any more would be disastrous. She would be a constant reminder of where he let his guard down, which had never happened without dire consequences.

He glanced over at her resting form. He knew she was still awake, her body holding a fine tension that never came with sleep.

She was lying on her back with her head turned away, thinking. She thought herself stupid and young. '_Why in the world did I tell him that_?' she asked herself numerous times. '_Now he thinks I'm a silly little girl, an annoying burden_.'

She closed her eyes and willed the tears back. She'd cried enough as it was. No more of that, now, don't you dare._ Hormonal idiot_, she cursed.

He felt the slight tremor as she held in her emotions, her shoulders shaking a little. He sat up and touched the shoulder closest to him. She ignored him and rolled onto her side. He sighed and spoke, his voice seemingly larger in the dark room.

He sounded quite sincere in his question. "Were you ... serious? That day, before the riders came?"

She sighed and didn't answer right away. "What's it to you? You're leaving anyway. What does it matter if I meant what I said? Maybe I didn't. You'll never know."

He sighed again and grasped her shoulder, turning her around. He was quick enough and strong enough that she hadn't the time or energy to resist. He held her securely against his chest, she, sitting on his lap.

"I'm not going to leave you, woman," he told her, whispering warmly into her hair. "I never was."

She didn't speak for a while. When she did, her voice sounded thin, as if she were still restraining tears. "Is it because of what I said?"

"You mean the part about you loving me?" he said softly. "Not at all. What's bloody love got to do with it? If that was the case, I would have been gone long before now. I'm still trying to figure out if you meant that comment or were just saying it to wound me black heart."

She smiled for the first time in days. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Jack gave her one of his looks. "You aren't going to turn this into a game are you?" She continued to smile knowingly, not telling him a word.

He sighed and lifted her off him. "My, you've gained weight."

"Well, duh," she said, unfazed. "What did you expect? Keira Knightley?"

"Who?"

"Never mind."

"Ah, so it's another one of those Styrofoam things."

"I will never guess why you like that word so much."

…

Nick was a little frantic. He didn't particularly like his sister but he couldn't just let her fade away. Each day, the pictures became more and more fuzzy. He had looked at a group picture of her and her friends and had been dismayed to find Lizzy beginning to fade as well. Claudia and Anita were not fading and neither was Robin. Nick couldn't find any pictures of Diana but he had found a strange photo. It was of one of those dark patterned backgrounds in pictures, probably taken in the mall.

There was a shadow on a counter in front of the backdrop but there wasn't anyone in the picture, which was odd. He looked on the back and read the messy writing.

_Here's a pic of me._

_I know the shirt's a little_

_bit see through but my_

_mom picked it out. Good_

_luck in the parade._

_~D.D._

Nick knew D.D. was a nickname for Diana and he hastily turned the picture back over. He looked around the room for the binder that usually held pictures.

There were several custom prints her friends had given her and a few times, while sitting in class, she had traced their faces meticulously with a pen, leaving behind a green sketch of the people. He matched up all the pictures to their respective sketch but was left with one. He looked at it carefully and decided it must have been Diana. She was very thin and the pen had conveyed the transparent shirt, the strap of a bra present even through the material. He slid the blank photo into the plastic cover. The picture matched up in size perfectly with the sketch.

So, Ryoko, Lizzy, and Diana were blocked from returning, but why? Nick didn't know about the child or the curse and he certainly didn't know about the merclan. The poor kid was just lost.

"Why am I worrying about this?" he asked himself. "Do I really want my sister back?" The answer was irrelevant. He and his sister may have fought over everything, but he couldn't leave her stranded.

"What should I do though!" he asked angrily. "I can't bring them back. Only Barton can do that, immortal bastard." Nick crossed his arms and sat on his animal print bed. Then it occurred to him. He had a plan.

"Ah!" he exclaimed. "I get it!"

He got on the phone immediately.

…

Scarlette awoke the next morning in a good mood. Jack was staying, or he wasn't leaving without her, he was alive, and her headache was gone. It was late in April and the Caribbean was approaching its heat potential again.

She was not allowed to even get out of bed for the remainder of her term and due to the naval situation, Jack was present to keep her there. Mulligan came a few days later and took in Jack's presence with and indifferent shrug, telling him that his secret was safe. Mulligan was not heartless and he knew the nature of the Billingtons.

Jack thanked him and was pleased to hear that Scarlette was faring better than she had a few days prior. Her system was replenishing itself.

He spoke to Will and Jack privately, not wanting Scarlette to hear. "I'm letting you two know because no one else in this house has as much clout. She will not be moved at all, that stays the same. She shouldn't have much outer stimulus so if anyone is to enter the room, they are to keep their voices down. I would have preferred her to stay in the other room but Elizabeth should not be disturbed either until her mewling punk is at least a month old." The men nodded and Mulligan left the house, still limping about with his cane.

"What did he say?" Scarlette asked Jack as he re-entered the room.

He smiled mysteriously. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

She gasped. "That's not fair!"

"Oh, isn't it?" Jack countered. "I believe you said the very same thing to me the other night."

"Jack," Will called. "Remember what Mulligan said. Keep it down and stop provoking her."

"Oh, right," he said, attempting to keep a straight face.

"You are trying not to laugh," she pointed out bluntly. "Why?"

"Just something the doctor said that isn't remotely funny given the situation," Jack told her.

"So in other words, it's just your dirty imagination," she explained.

"My dirty imagination?" He smiled, his teeth a stark whiteness against his tanned face.

"Lead me not to temptation, I can't find it well enough on my own," she quoted. "That epitomizes you."

He shrugged. "I'll not argue with that one, luv."

There was a knock on the door and Will called in. "Scarlette has a visitor, more than one, actually. I am afraid to let them in because they are bound to become quite loud."

"Who is it, Will?" she asked.

"Gibbs and Anamaria. _The Pearl _is here."

Jack grinned evilly. He put a finger to his lips and stood by the door. They wouldn't see him until they were well into the room.

"Let them in," Scarlette commanded. "It'll be fine, Will. Don't worry so much."

The door opened and Anamaria stepped in. Gibbs stayed respectfully outside but Scarlette was in her robe so he was allowed to come in.

He went to shut the door and a dark hand did so for him. He followed the hand, moving up the arm to the shoulder and finally to the face.

"Jack?" Gibbs exclaimed. Anamaria whirled around, her eyes wide. They pounced on their captain with shouts of glee.

"Jack! Where've ye been?" Gibbs was shouting. "We all thought ye were dead!"

Anamaria had actual tears in her eyes. Jack disentangled himself from them and sat on the bed. "How did the raid on Charleston go?"

Anamaria blinked and broke into a smile. "Perfectly, Captain."

Jack nodded, smiling slightly.

"You're comin' with us, right Cap'n," Gibbs asked eagerly. Jack glanced back at Scarlette who didn't look at him.

"I'm afraid I can't leave, Gibbs," Jack told him, turning back to face his crew. "At least not for a few months. You're welcome to go or stay but until further notice, I'll be here." Scarlette looked up, her eyes wide. She had half believed he would go anyways.

Anamaria nodded in understanding. Gibbs' face fell but he stroked his muttonchops and nodded as well.

"How's Anamaria doing as Captain?' Jack asked.

"She's good," Gibbs answered truthfully. "The men see _the Pearl _and they go running away. Then the captain steps out and they all just stare at first, seeing Anamaria, but then we all storm over the gangway and they start runnin' again. She serves well and she knows her business."

"Though nothing compared to you, Jack," she told him. Jack smiled again.

"You two keep flatterin' me and I might work up a blush," Jack cracked.

"And how are you, Scarlette?" Gibbs asked her finally. "That's what we came here to do. Check up on you, not gab with the living dead. That rat Barbossa's out attacking ships with _the Dragon _and a new privateer.

"_The Opal's Revenge,_" Anamaria said. She shivered visibly.

Jack looked from one to the other. "What's so bad about that?"

"He's been preyin' on ships all across the Caribbean," Gibbs answered. "He's unstoppable."

"No one's unstoppable," Jack answered, his lips curving up into his smirk again. "I intend to prove that."

"How, Jack?" Anamaria asked. "_The Poison Dragon _has over 70 guns."

"She's slow to move," Jack answered. "Heavy in guns and cargo, sluggish in maneuverability. _The Pearl _is still the fastest ship in the Caribbean and possibly the world."

"Speed ain't everything," Gibbs said. "_The Pearl _only has one and a half gun decks, we've got 30 guns, plus the swivels. Even if we managed to knock out _the Dragon_, the privateer would come up behind us. It's an ambush and the enemy don't even need to plan to get us. It'd be all our own doing!"

Jack continued to smile. "There's a solution to everything, Gibbs. We'll take both of them down."

They left the house wondering what Jack was planning. They informed the crew that their captain was indeed alive and well. That night, there were plenty of visitors to the Turner house. The crew was genuinely happy that Jack was alive and they kept bringing him things.

Angelique in fact had a whole cupboard set aside for Jack's gifts, which consisted mainly of drinks, a few trinkets, and exactly one box of ammunition. The box was from Barton and Jack hadn't been curious enough to ask but Belle supplied the firearm, both of which were not from this time.

Jack was looking at the folded directions in amazement and Scarlette grinned. She took it from him and showed him what to do. She'd only handled a gun once in her time and that was when her father had purchased one and shown her how to work it. She opened to box of ammunition and gasped.

"Jack," she said. "These are silver shot. You can kill Barbossa with them."

"Are they now?" he picked one up, holding it up to the light. "Why're they shaped like that?"

"Those are more aero dynamic than the balls used today," she explained. "They're faster and this," she held up the gun, a Browning high-power. "Technically you can hold fourteen rounds in it but that's not really safe. Thirteen is better, that way the chamber's open. You don't need primer or powder or any of that. It's all encased. You can even use this underwater."

Jack was genuinely impressed. "This is how it is where you come from? Then how the hell is piracy non existent?"

"Piracy ..." she thought for a moment. "It has been out for at least a hundred years, probably more. Traditional piracy, that is. I'm not very good at history but I'd say the last real pirate acts were in the Civil war with the blockade runners. They would smuggle goods into the South or North. You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you."

Jack smiled at her. "No. I don't even know where California is."

"You know the British colonies in the New World? Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina etc?" He nodded. "Well, in less than twenty years from now, those will all be free. There is going to be a war and the Americans, as they will dub themselves after Amerigo Vespucci, will win. There are only thirteen colonies now but by my time, there are fifty, spread out from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, or from sea to shining sea, as the song goes. Still confused? California is the thirty-first colony, or state as it's called now."

Jack shook his head. "It's my turn to say it, never mind. This'll kill Barbossa you say?"

"Silver bullets, better accuracy, stronger impact, multiple shot, it'll kill anything you want, except maybe elephants, not that I've ever tried."

Jack looked at the gun as if it were a shiny new toy he'd gotten for Christmas. "Browning." (it reminds me of Hoggle from _Labyrinth._ "Ooh. Plastic!" ... never mind)

Scarlette smiled and nodded. Jack placed the gun in the cupboard along with everything else.

"You know, I'm feeling' rather good about this," he said, sitting next to her on the bed and putting an arm around her. "We're both alive, we're rich as kings, we have a ship and a year's supply of rum, and we haven't fought today."

"I'd say it's a bit of a miracle," she told him. "Considering we're both sequestered in the house." He gave her his grin and she smiled as well. "I think the reason we aren't fighting is that you haven't tried to pester me with suggestive meanings."

Jack didn't say anything. Scarlette shrugged and continued.

"Of course, you had no problem with your imagination when I was on that ship, perfectly thin, wearing that damn corset, my hair arranged all prettily and my face made up. Now, well, of course I've gained weight and I've got circles around my eyes. I suppose you don't find anything to turn your imagination looking at ugly me."

"Ugly?" Jack said. "Why have you such a bleak opinion of yourself? Everyone's beautiful in their own way, yours is just harder to see than others'. Be flattered. It takes a smart man to notice it, luv."

She didn't ask him of his opinion, not wanting to know. She never thought she was beautiful, not even pretty. (Note to Readers: the participant for Scarlette has been called a rock star and a movie star. She is refreshingly eccentric. Pretty is not in her self description to the point of denial. Just ask her yourself!)

He leaned towards her slightly. "Now, about my question. Did you mean what you said that day?"

She giggled and leaned her shoulder against him playfully. "Why, Mr. Sparrow. I believe you are consumed with curiosity. I'm going to let you wonder for a while."

Jack grimaced. "You're torturing me for a reason, I assume."

"Just payback, dear," she humored. Ladies and gentlemen, Ryoko is back to the plate and hitting all the curve balls. In fact ….

"Well, then," he said, standing. "That's not much incentive for me to play fair then is it? You want this to be a game? It's a deal, luv. There's no going back on it now. You've chosen to play against ol' Jack. Good luck."

"And what makes you think I'm not up for it?" she asked. "You're not the first I've 'played' against, not that I want to mention the last game."

Jack looked vaguely interested. "The last one was beaten by you, I'd assume."

She smiled. "Actually if you must know, I gave up on the last one, ironically at Disneyland."

"Where?"

"Have you not been paying attention? These games are not to be played by everyone and my last contender was a bit frightening."

"More frightening than me, I imagine," Jack muttered.

She nodded. "If such a thing can be imagined by the likes of you."

"What're you implying, luv?"

"I'm not implying," she told him in mock sweetness. "I'm _saying_ that you might have an inflated opinion of yourself."

He sat down and leaned into her again. "Peas in a pod, darlin'." (Deleted scenes! ha!)

She gave him one of her looks, her left eyebrow rising in a spiteful contortion.

He grinned at her, their eyes almost level. "Now this, I missed."

Her features lightened and a smirk graced her lips. "This useless banter between us that supposedly every other mortal is terrified of conducting with you?"

He pulled her closer. "That too." He moved in, her heart speeding up a little. He had one hand in her hair, the rough texture of his skin vaguely catching in the strands. His mouth was just above her ear and his breath was felt along the side of her face and down her neck, sending titillating shivers down her spine.

"Tell me," he whispered hotly. "I'm obviously dying to know. Why don't you ease an honest pirate's pain and give up the salve."

She tried to pull back but he held her close. "Maybe I'm enjoying your torment. You seem to have no qualms about torturing me, what with all the pranks you pulled on that ship to New Orleans, the thing with your mother and Rosette, the island, _the Pearl_, Tortuga, the way home, our first night here, Mulligan, the—"

"All right, luv. You've made your point."

"But there's so much to my point," she smiled, though he couldn't see it from where he was. "I must continue."

"But you won't," he said, pulling back until they were looking into each other's eyes, his dark to her multihued.

"And what's to stop me?" she asked haughtily.

"I am," he affirmed, closing in. It was the first time either of them had kissed anyone in quite a while, since his departure in fact. Jack had not been 'around' while away. Looking back, even if he had been well, Jack was almost certain he would have stayed away from the Bourbon street gals.

There was applause from the door, which had remained open. Just about all the future girls, minus Diana, stood there smiling their heads off. Scarlette pulled back first, as usual in those situations.

Jack looked over his shoulder at them. "Enjoying the show, are we?"

Lizzy piped up. "See, Ryoko. I told you you'd find someone decent someday."

"Decent?" Jack joked. "That's the first time I've heard that one applied to me."

"Yeah, well," Scarlette sighed. "What does one do?"

"You see," Jack said. "The problem lies with society, not you."

"Oh, I don't know," Robin added. "She's pretty eccentric. If memory serves, she went to school one day dressed like you, bandana and all." (more than once, kids)

"Before we met?"

"Well, there was the movie."

"Ah."

"And she'll break out in song suddenly for no reason at all," Claudia added. "Usually in some language no one in the vicinity speaks such as Japanese, Chinese, sometimes French, once it was Latin."

"We can't forget her emulation of 'Barbie Girl' in German," Robin added. "Though if shouting incoherent noises and making Nazi salutes counts as German, I live in Berlin."

"Or her numerous rendition of Christmas carols such as the Twelve Days of Tuba, very perverted song," Lizzy added. (Rated R if anyone's interested. I did _not_ write this song. I believe that credit goes to Chris Ramirez and Doozle, both of the T of R tuba line, irrelevant to _this_ story, however)

Jack looked from the girls to Scarlette. "I'm sorry, I don't understand these women."

"Likewise, buddy," Robin cracked. "But we still love you."

"See," Jack said to Scarlette. "They can admit it."

"You mean she hasn't said it yet?" Lizzy exclaimed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Well …." Scarlette hesitated. She was trapped now. Jack began to grin, thinking he had her.

"Ryoko has the habit of keeping her feelings from everyone," Anita said finally. "Funny thing is, she's usually the last to know who she likes due to intense denial."

Scarlette stood up and closed the door on her giggling friends. Jack gave her a mocking look as she turned around. "You're not supposed to leave the bed."

"Well, someone had to close the door and you weren't going to do it due to all the juicy information they were feeding you."

"You're absolutely right, luv." He grasped her outreached hand and pulled her to his lap.

"Will you ever get tired of terrorizing me, Jack?"

He smiled sincerely, the tip of his pointed nose brushing hers briefly. "Unlikely."

…

How ... cute. First thing's first, the page count. I think we've broken 3C. And the number is ... 332! And with glossary ... 349! Congratulations if you've gotten this far without puking. This is the first chapter ended in the new year at 1:10 AM, January 1st, 2004. I believe I started it the 29th, or was it the 30th? Maybe early 30th, late 29th. Yeah, that's it.

As for the significance, in this chapter, Ryoko is almost primarily known as Scarlette except by her old bar mates. Also, the fading pictures. You know, I wish I got paid for writing this fic, you know, like a royalty? Yeah right. How am I to know you aren't out pirating it? Who would want to?

Mungojerry; Er ... there's no' any money in't. Ya can't pirate wha's no value.

Jack; Cat, I'm making an appointment with the "V" man.

Mungojerry; Tha' bloke wit' th'snippers?

Jack; Yep. You'll end up like Will and the French.

Mungojerry; Bu' Oi already 'ave a lovely singin' voice.

Jack; yeah, well when he's done, you'll be singing soprano, not tenor.

**Revisited 1-18-07 12:28 am pg count 489**


	18. Chapter XVII : Murphy's Law

Hello again. 1:18 AM, January 1st, 2004. First of all, I guess I'd better give a tribute to my old section buddies from T of R, Warren, and GP. (If you want to skip this and get to the story, scroll down until you hit the dotted line.

First, T of R, the Rose Parade. They would be; Sandra (the other girl and coolest), Richie (APS, torta), Franky (Blast, the most perverted of all), Eddie, Justin (grandpa, probably on his 9th year now) Brendan (the Safety guy), Adam (he's in RCC now), Art (the lobster guy), Kevin (Rasch, the biggest), Ben (Fro man), Jonathan (Chonies), Scott (UCLA), Luis (silent one), Chris (the Skip, DL, I've still got the sweater), Josh (Booner and more APS), Stu (the youngest), Tuba Steve (porn and chicken?), and Josh (Doozle, I never learned his real last name) who got kicked out the day I met him.

Okay, now to Warren. This is ... difficult. There's Ronald, whom I only met once, Robert, whom I haven't decided whether I want to kill or not, Rafael, the evil stick boy who weighs nothing, Daniel, the purest tuba I've ever met that wasn't an idiot, mucho comic relief (#3 for those who know), Chris, whom I never decided if I missed or not, Jeremy, whom I never got to march with, and Katie, who, well, was the other girl and fellow eccentric person. (I will never forget that green sweater, pink hair, blue pants, yellow shirt, and striped socks with safety pins sticking out from every socket, home piercings, etc... And the flag painted on the face! That was good. Go K.)

And GP (Grants Pass). Well, Jordan the gimoungous I don't really know that well, but he seems nice and he plays the bagpipes. Patrick I want to strangle half the time and Corey is adorable in a little teddy bear sort of way. Jay C, Corey's brother and fellow tuba is an even bigger teddy bear with a colorful curse range. Drew, the instructor guy is cool (sideburns and mirrored sunglasses!) and then there's John. I miss John. He was the only one in the section that didn't drive me insane. Although I'll never forgive him for pinning me with his legs. Not fun.

And without further rambling, here it is.

**Chapter XVII –Murphy's Law**

"Anything that can go wrong, _will _go wrong."

~Gore Verbinksi (disclaimer! Don't sue! I don't own anyone!)

…

The British naval forces had captured Guadeloupe just recently and so the navy was out in the streets as a result. They were ready, should they be called upon to leave. Jack couldn't even go near a window without the risk of someone seeing him.

Jack, confined to the house, lounged on the divan in the front room, looking at a sketch Scarlette had done of the ship. She'd done it from memory, meaning there were several factors horribly wrong, such as the sails. She'd added fore and aft sails in unexpected places and the boom crank was a bit too large. She'd forgotten the swivels and there seemed to be a few less ropes.

In short, for a woman who hadn't set foot on a ship in months, it was fine. She had done it to amuse herself, not ever intending for Jack to see it, but he'd been snooping for answers to his question such as the "L" word or little hearts with his initials in them.

He turned the page and caught his breath. It was vague in the facial area, most of the visage cast in shadow but he could tell immediately who it was. It was a caricature of himself, unmistakably. He stood proudly, his feet splayed, balancing on a cross beam, his left hand holding the mast of a sloop. His right hand was planted on his hip and he had a blank expression on his face, his eyes rimmed in black giving him a darker appearance, the flat plains of his slightly exposed chest shaded naturally.

It was remarkable, much better than her sketch of the ship. Little did he know, it was his entrance in the movie. She'd had plenty of time to think of this scene. She'd actually attempted a version of it in her time, not doing so well. (_This actual picture belongs to a student at GP high school. It exists. I drew it and quite a few people wanted it. The deciding factor was "How many times does Jack get slapped in the movie?" One said three, another said four. The last got the picture but the other came back with a counter, saying it had actually been five. She counted the time when Will hit him with the oar. I drew for her a separate picture, one without the coat and hat._)

Okay, back to the story. Jack was looking over some of the other pictures, the sketch of him folded neatly in his pocket, finding a cruder one of Will, one of the girls, all of them with strange eyes. This was the first and probably last time Jack would ever see Japanese style drawings. Their eyes were too large and their bodies well out of proportion, long legs, thin waists and impressive busts. Women just weren't made like that.

There was a knock on the door and as the butler opened it, Jack stiffened. He heard the voice of a man he'd been running from before he'd been convicted. It was a man, titled respectfully, the Reverend Steenwick.

Jack bolted up the stairs and hid in his room. Scarlette shrieked when he entered unexpectedly. He crawled under the bed, telling her not to give up his position. She was thoroughly confused, not to mention curious. The door opened again and the plump reverend entered angrily, shutting the door behind him.

"Oh, excuse me, ma'am," he said, averting his eyes even though she was completely decent.

"Who are you?" she asked without prelude.

"I am the Reverend Steenwick of Cambridge," he announced. "I am after a man, Jack Sparrow. Do you know where he's gone?"

"Captain Jack Sparrow?" she stated purposefully, her eyes widening innocently. "No, I don't know where he's gone but when you find him, tell him I need to speak with him about why a strange man was searching for him."

"Oh, I …" he scratched his head. "Who are you?"

She smiled and told him, accent and all. "Sir, I'm Mrs. Jack Sparrow, savvy?"

Jack attempted not to choke on the dust under the bed. She was provoking him on purpose. Nothing made him want to laugh more than when she emulated him. The frightening thing was, she actually sounded like him sometimes.

The Reverend, fortunately, choked at the same time Jack did and was none the wiser to his position. "Oh? I ... I hadn't known he'd married."

"Why are you after my husband, Reverend?"

"Well, you see," he told her, fiddling with the attachments on the front of his clothing. "I have quite a bone to pick with him."

She just looked at him, waiting. The reverend sighed and caved in.

"A few years back," the reverend stated. "I found myself tied and gagged. I'm here to justify the situation."

"One; that sounds like only part of the story," she began. "Two; isn't it against God to seek revenge?"

"Ah," he faltered. "You're smarter than someone associated with Jack would be expected to be."

"According to you. Out with the rest, Reverend," she told him. He sighed and relented.

{FLASHBACK}

_ Six years before, Jack being twenty-five, he happened upon the town of Cambridge in England. He'd come that far, being chased by all manner of men out for his neck. He'd ducked into the local magistrate's office to hide from the pursuing men._

_ Inside, he'd slipped out of sight and happened to hear a conversation of a young couple._

_ "We want it done in secrecy, sir," the woman was saying. "No one is to know about it."_

_ "I'm sorry, milady but it simply cannot be done that way," the magistrate had told her. "Steenwick refuses to perform those rituals and Jallows is out of town for at least two years. You can go to a neighboring town, I'm sure."_

_ "No," she said. "There must be some way. I am to wed in the same church my mother did."_

_ Jack listened for a bit longer until he heard the telltale signs of pursuit at the door. He slipped away, moving out the back door and into the next road. He looked around fruitlessly, sprinting for the church, the only open building in sight._

_ He entered the great white building, noticing that the pews were empty at the moment. He looked around frantically, not seeing anywhere to hide. He rushed toward the altar, seeing a coat hangar out of the corner of his eye. He looked at it fully, pulling the thick robe from one of the pegs. He draped it over his head and bowed before the altar just as the men glanced in. All they saw was a nun kneeling before the altar, obviously completely immersed in her religion._

_ They didn't bother to ask if she'd seen the pirate. There was nowhere to hide in the small church. They left her to her worship._

_ As soon as he heard their footsteps die away, he pulled off the shroud and hung it back on the rack, turning to leave. He nearly crashed into the reverend who had stepped up behind him, having seen everything._

_ Jack was speechless, attempting to move around the man. The reverend grabbed his arm and looked at him. "The Lord doth favor you, sir. Had he not, you would have been caught there."_

_ Jack shrugged him off. "Why didn't you give me away?"_

_ The reverend smiled. "I wanted to see what He would do with you."_

_ Jack grinned, gold glinting in his mouth. "And what if I make me own luck?" _

_ The reverend smiled. "Then I say, your luck is up, sir." He swiftly grabbed Jack's own pistol and aimed it at him. That pistol still held the shot meant for Barbossa, the one that never really killed him._

_ "Don't run or I'll shoot you here in this church, pirate," Steenwick growled. He called to the men who were still in the vicinity and they came rushing in._

_ "Some church official you are," he growled. Jack had resignedly raised his arms, surrendering. That shot was not meant for the walls of the church in Cambridge or even for his own head. He'd save it, thanks very much._

_ And so he was dragged off to spend the night in a cell in Cambridge, along with a man far too clean to be in that cell._

_ "So why're you here?" Jack asked the man._

_ "Reverend Steenwick got me locked in here, much like you, only I was asking him a question. You see, me and me gal want ta get married in secrecy. He said some bit about there bein' no secrecy in front o' God an' that we didn't need a secret weddin'."_

_ "Ah, yes," Jack recalled the same man from that morning._

_ "All the same, I can bust outta this cell, but I can't get married. The reason we getting' married in hush is 'cause her daddy's not a nice 'un."_

_ Jack's mind, ever awake, was thinking up a scheme to escape and get Steenwick back for his betrayal of Jack's position._

_ "If you spring me from this cell, I swear on pain of death (sound familiar) that I will help you and your bonny lass achieve your wish. Do we have an accord?"_

_ "Oye! Roight 'un." the man said, shaking hands with Jack. He went to the flimsy Cambridge doors and pulled instead of pushing. The lock gave a groan and he showed it to Jack._

_ "See this? It don't have support from this direction, pops off easily." He continued pulling until the lock gave a small plink and fell to the hay strewn ground. They escaped, Jack grabbing his affects and following the man. They swung by the house and picked up the man's woman, walking briskly to the church under cover of darkness._

_ Steenwick was known as a devout churchman when it suited him. He actually slept in the church, convinced it gave him powers no other man had._

_ Jack had no trouble subduing the man. Steenwick had woken and given him an angry hiss but Jack had hit him on the head with the butt of his pistol, knocking him out. He dragged the man off into a corner and tied him to one of the statues. He knew that if he didn't do this right and "disappear" by dawn that both he and the happy couple might hang._

_ He actually stripped the man down to his breeches and donned the costume for the occasion. He wed the couple, using his memory to the advantage, fabricating the papers and marking it in the date book. He'd once been the apprentice of a cartographer who had acted in pluralism as a magistrate. He knew how to do papers. And, as the captain of a ship, he knew other things as well._

_ Well, they left the church and Jack left the clothing at the feet of the still unconscious man, deciding to humiliate him further before taking his leave. He grabbed the quill and ink and amused himself by decorating the man's face._

_ "Ah, how about handle bars, eh?" Jack drew the absurdly ridiculous moustache on the unconscious reverend, giving him simultaneously a unibrow with forked points. He gave him foppish freckles and lashes to match, and quite a few beauty marks. When he was finished, he signed his work on each eyelid, a tiny CJS, hardly noticeable. Another mark for him was on the man's upper lip. There was a tiny sparrow flying as if it were about to take off up the reverend's nose._

_ Of course, he knew it was Jack. All of Cambridge knew it was Jack by the next morning, luckily not seeing him. He'd gone off, hanging onto the back of a carriage, stealing a boat when he reached the shore, and sailing towards the South China Sea. The reverend had followed, tipped off by the whole Lin clan fiasco. After this, he tailed Jack to Singapore._

_ The thing one must know about Singapore is that today, they speak two languages primarily. English and Chinese. Back in the day, in the 1700's, this was hardly the case. Jack was off fine, knowing both Cantonese and Mandarin dialects well enough but poor Steenwick, educated only in the "romantic" languages was lost._

_ Given the diet most residents of Singapore were used to, it was a wonder Steenwick ever kept up with Jack. As you are wondering, where does that quote come in? "Clearly, you've never been to Singapore." Well, I might as well explain it now._

_ Singapore, a subject to the British crown, was in path to the new wave of elegance, which included corsets. Jack, used to the bloody things from his visits in Tortuga, was also used to women complaining about them, but never dropping dead. The English women who lived in the terraces and great mansions never did this, but the locals, attempting to touch the graceful slender waists of the aristocrats, had never worn these before._

_ As Jack witnessed several times women falling around him, he had again on several occasions been the one to bend and "save" them from their own clothing. This was how Steenwick found him one night, bent over a woman, her dress open and him slicing the corset open. Unluckily, on this occasion for all parties, this particular woman, along with perhaps a thirty percent ratio of the women present, was not wearing a dressing gown underneath her corset. Thus, when Jack saved her from suffocating, he also ended up baring her ... wares to the world._

_ Steenwick was not the only man angry with Jack for that particular accident, however, that is another story altogether. The woman had 'belonged' to another well-known pirate._

_ One can imagine Steenwick's fury as he found Sparrow bent over a half naked woman with a knife in his hand. Everything about that scenario sounded horrible. Jack had immediately stood, throwing his coat over the woman and punching Steenwick, knocking him out again. Jack never returned for the coat._

_ Steenwick lost him after that, not catching the scent again until his execution at the end of the film. Steenwick had hastened to Port Royal, knowing Jack would escape. He arrived after the event, just in time for the time travel bit. He had seen Jack and Ryoko swim in and had immediately attempted climbing the mountain but hadn't made it in time._

_ His second attempt at getting at Jack had been the second execution. Mei Lin's arrival had terrified the man and he had a fleeting thought that it was the same woman he'd seen in Singapore, although that wasn't true._

_ He had decided to stay in Port Royal, waiting for the next opportunity to club Jack and drag him back to Cambridge. He wanted to put him in the stocks in the square of the town in which he'd been so bold._

{END FLASHBACK}

"I always did wonder what he meant by that line," Scarlette comprehended. "And that little smirk whenever someone mentions impersonating a cleric must have been about the moustache and things. Well, now I know."

"So, where is he?"

"Reverend Steenwick," she addressed him. "You will leave my room this instant."

"What? Don't be absurd. I'm not leaving until you tell me where Jack Sparrow is."

"I'll scream."

"Don't be silly. The officers of this port are friends of mine."

"Silly? I am not a silly woman, sir," she fixed an eye on him and made a shooing motion. "Out. Away with you. Go with God and all that fuzz."

He looked aghast. "Mocking a man of God, such as I? How can you speak such language, Madame? I refuse to leave until you give me the information I have come to get. I am on a mission of God."

She snorted. «_ Au contraire, monsieur. Vous ne parlez pas Chinois, mais pouvez-vous parlez français? _» When in doubt, speak French. Maybe he'll go away.

«_ Oui, je parle français, problement mieux de toi_. »

« _Oh, pas de toi. Vous, s'il vous plait. Vous pensez que vous parlez mieux de moi mais vous oubliez les pronoms raison. _»

She looked at him smugly as he tried to swallow that.

REWIND: OPTIONS SUBTITLES ENGLISH

"On the contrary, sir. You don't speak Chinese but can you speak French?"

"Yes, I speak French, probably better than you do."

"Oh, not the "tu" form, "Vous" form please. You think that you speak better than me but you forgot the proper pronouns."

(Quick explanation; the "tu" form is used with familiarity, such as one might speak to their friends or family. The "vous" form is more formal and is commanded in situations like this one where neither of the parties speaking knows the other very well. Steenwick using the "tu" form as a slip up would be embarrassing.)

PAUSE: OPTIONS SUBTITLES NONE

(Couldn't resist, mate.)

Jack was attempting not to laugh under the bed as Scarlette bullied the reverend. She eventually embarrassed the man into leaving the room, making him feel horrible by bringing up subjects such as a certain question. "No, really. I'm dying to know. What exactly did Jack write on your face? What did the captain of the guard think when he saw your ... decorations? Not to mention, you were in your underwear! Tied to a statue? I do not envy you, sir, not one bit."

After Steenwick vacated the house, Jack pulled himself from under the bed and brushed his clothes off.

"Brilliant performance," he commended her. "Again you managed to emulate me in a situation in which I need to hide, only further digging my hole. Did you enjoy the story?"

"The parts that I heard," she answered. "You'll tell me the more complete version later, I imagine."

"I'll trade you the story for the answer," he said suddenly. She considered it but shook her head. He grinned. "Maybe I'll tie _you_ to a statue in nothing but your underwear, eh?"

"Jack Sparrow; you wouldn't do such a thing," she told him, hoping she was right.

"I might, if it suited me."

"I'm still not going to tell you."

He shrugged. "It was worth a try."

…

Nick was on the plane, heading for Africa, the place his quarry was last sighted. Nick, being the little black mailer he was, had conned some man he didn't know a thing about into wiring ten grand to him, under a fake identity. Nick had received the money, using the name John Jadent, which was a bit ironic when one thought about it.

He even had fake ID cards and a pass port. Nick was a genius when it came to getting these things and no one quite knew how he had done it.

He hadn't packed too much but he had brought one of those little facemasks. The area he was going to was dangerous, not because of animals, but because of what lay hidden there. He would be searching around the Zaire River, a place where one of the most devastating viral diseases was located. The strongest human fatal strain of Ebola was there.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he groaned. "I might never come back. No one knows how this thing is carried. And to think I'm doing it all for my sister and her useless friends."

The person in the seat next to him, a woman with hair cut boyishly short turned to him. "Pardon?"

"Nothing," he grunted, sliding down in his seat.

…

It was now mid May and Scarlette slept most of the time. When she wasn't sleeping, she was reading or eating. Elizabeth was moved back into Will's room and Jack was moved into the other room, leaving Scarlette in the original room, next to Jadent's which worried him slightly. Jadent spent most of his time drinking, however, and was not home very often.

Little Will was very blonde, now that he was a tad bigger but he kept his large brown eyes that seemed to search the room for victims. The child was quiet, an angelic babe, not something one finds very often. His big repellant was that Little Will had a bowel problem. In other words, the kid loved to crap, pee, and expel his ... nutrients in any way he could. He must have found it hilariously funny to lay a load when someone was holding him because the child actually smiled. He never did it to Elizabeth but the first time Will held him, poor Mr. Turner had goo with tapioca like texture all over his vest.

At least it was throw up. Norrington had not been as lucky. Elizabeth had just begun changing Little Will when she realized she hadn't readied the next cloth. She'd handed Will to Norrington, who had been visiting, back from "chasing" Jack to Calcutta, having fabricated another tip-off before leaving the Caribbean, not wanting to sail to the Indian Ocean. Besides the fact that Jack hiding in Calcutta didn't make any sense (the port was heavily policed by the EITC of Britain and thus no place for such a notorious pirate) it was a three month voyage in the best of weather.

Norrington, thinking that the kid had just been changed and that he wouldn't need to ... go after such a short time, absently held the little blonde one on his lap. The child looked up at the Commodore with his wide brown eyes and gave a childish little smile.

"Oh, look, Will. He's smiling. Is he laughing at my hat?"

"Smiling? Oh no! Quick, James! Get him on the cloth!"

"Cloth? Elizabeth's getting the cloth! Why are you so ... ohmy." *gag*

He had felt a warm sensation and had lifted the child off his knee to discover a ... 'something' of indefinable shape in an indefinable color ranging from pea green to chocolate brown sitting on his white breeches.

He almost dropped the child he was so disturbed. Will grabbed his son and took him to the basin to clean him off. The child was still smiling.

Estrella walked in with a tray and gasped. Norrington was sitting, staring at his knee with a horrified look on his face. Estrella bent and began to wipe at the ... object, which only made it worse, smearing the goop into his nice white uniform pants. He looked like he was about to cry.

Jack chose this time to swagger down the stairs, stopping a moment to absently sniff the air. "What's that smell?"

Both Estrella and Norrington turned to him, their faces haunted and full of shock. Jack shrugged "What? Don't look at me."

Will came running from the basin at that moment, passing the still bottomless kid onto Jack as he rushed up the staircase. Jack held the kid at arms length, giving him a disgusted grimace. "I guess you're not a eunuch, Will. Don't even think about it, whelp," he told the child. "I know your reputation. If I hold you anywhere near my body, I'm going to get slimed or worse. Norrington, I assume you've met Little Will, judging by the smell." Norrington didn't answer.

The kid started smiling again but Jack didn't see it. He was looking up the stairs, hoping Will or Elizabeth would hurry and take their smelly son away from him.

He felt it before he smelt it and Estrella restrained a giggle. Jack turned to see the kid who was smiling his little pudgy face off. Jack's front was drenched thanks to the kid and it wasn't vomit.

"Brat!" he exclaimed. "Will! You'd better get down here bloody quick or I'm going to introduce your son to swimming a little early."

Both the Turners rushed down the stairs, Elizabeth holding a piece of white cloth. She took the child from Jack, wrinkling up her nose. Norrington was still staring at his pants, a horrified look on his face.

"Outside," she choked. "Both outside." Jack went on his own but Norrington had to be helped up, still in a stupor over his breeches.

The two men stood outside waiting for whatever Elizabeth was preparing for them. She had them strip down to the essentials so their clothing could be washed. Will tossed them raiment that they could borrow.

The funny thing was, neither of them was close to Will's size. Everything was too small on Norrington and too big on Jack. Jack cringed, getting just a slight taste of what Scarlette had gone through with his clothing.

They stepped back into the house, Norrington a bit more uncomfortable than Jack. Both refused adamantly to even coming within range of the child whose only warning was that slow dreamy smile.

…

Nick was ready to strangle someone. They had lost the damn luggage. Every bag he'd carefully packed was missing, including his proof that he wasn't lying. Of course, he had the essentials with him, the money, the passport, his carry on bag. And, if he was correct, his quarry would know he wasn't lying.

It was 36 hours after boarding and four planes later that Nick realized this. He had made the transfer on the first two stops as well as the third but somewhere between flying him into Zaire from Borneo they had lost the damn luggage. Well, he still had his mask.

He had hired a tour guide who spoke both English and the native collection, which consisted of about five different languages.

They arrived in the first village at about nine in the morning. Nick, attempting not to breathe too deeply because he thought it rude to whip out his mask at the first sight of the natives, ended up becoming severely dizzy. He was led into a hut to rest as the guide spoke quickly, telling them what he knew of Nick's quarry. He was searching for a man with shaggy brown hair and strange eyes. The men spoke rapidly, saying he might be in the next village, which was under the disease this season. Nick, not hearing this because his guide did not tell him, was adamant in continuing.

They arrived two days later. It was raining, fat warm droplets of rain. Nick shielded his face with one hand. They had passed a ditch on the way in that had been filled with something. The guide had not let Nick look at what that something was but he had an idea. Bodies.

Nick followed his guide, trusting that the man wouldn't lead him where it was dangerous, but he was paying the man enough for him to become foolhardily attached to his mission. He was leading the American into a dangerous place but as long as the money was rolling, it was fine.

Nick entered the hut of a man who supposedly knew where his quarry had gone and he was hit with the smell of blood. He almost doubled over right there, not accustomed to such a strong odor.

He looked around the room and was terrified. There were beds on the back wall with patients lying on their backs. One man, who had to be dead, was lying with his face towards the door and Nick could see that he had already hit the peak of the disease. There was blood all over the bed he laid on, pooling from his mouth, ears, nose and his bowels as well. It may have been a trick of the light but it seemed the man's eyes were red as rubies.

He was not mistaken. A few of the others had red eyes too, staring at the newcomer with a futile defiance. They were dying.

The man who was said to have information on his quarry sat alone in a corner. He did not have red eyes and his skin was not blotchy. In fact, for being so old, he was remarkably healthy. Ebola had never touched him and he had resided in this hut with it.

They played telephone for a while, Nick asking the questions in English, the guide asking in whatever language they were speaking at this place, getting a reply and the guide translating back to English.

"He's gone back into the forest," the guide told him. "Back to that cave deep within the fortress of trees and animals. To make the journey will be difficult but to find the man, you must do it for he will not come when called."

"So let's go." Nick said. He was _very _eager to be out of this dead village where the people had red eyes and purple skin.

He and his guide set out, stopping at the outskirts of the forest.

"We're goin' in dere?" the guide asked hesitantly.

Nick debated it. Was it worth it? Does my sister mean this much? Not really, but we've come this far. "Yep. Come on."

…

Jack heard a scream in the night and he sat up so fast he almost fell out of the bed. He was alone in this room and he was relived for a moment until he remembered where he was. The scream had come from across the hall.

He launched himself out of bed and sprinted to the other room, the door slightly ajar. He got there first as Will and those who had been awakened by it followed.

Scarlette sat on her bed shaking uncontrollably. Jack gripped her arms and began to ask question after question. "Are you all right? Is it the child? Are you in pain?"

She looked at him, her eyes wide. "No, I'm fine. I must have had a dream. I felt ... I felt as if there was someone standing over me, whispering in the dark and all I could see was shadow, and these burning blue eyes. It was ... horrifying. I knew the evil was there, but I couldn't see it. It could have been anywhere, whether a mile away or right under my nose."

Jack sighed. "Well, a nightmare. You had me for a second. I thought you'd begun."

Will was standing in the doorway watching them. "Maybe the nightmare was from lack of ... protection? You two have been in the same bed for quite a while. She had nightmares like that right after you left as well."

"You think it's from not having me with her all night?"

"Yes," Will answered. "But Mulligan was very firm in saying you should not share a room until after the child is born."

"That man has one of the biggest sticks up his butt," Scarlette commented. "I don't know why he's so insensitive but one of these days it's going to bite him in the ass."

Will looked abashed at her language but Jack seemed not to notice. He sat with her a while longer, until she fell asleep. He shook his head and padded back to his room, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.

"You've become a fool, Jack," he told himself. "How exactly? I'm not sure but you've managed to tie yourself up tighter than that damn corset."

…

Barbossa growled angrily. The ships had stopped coming. They weren't even trying anymore. He wanted a challenge. He wanted _the Pearl_.

He knew that the crew wouldn't even try, knowing Jack was dead. Barbossa had promised not to touch the crew but _the Pearl _was the only real challenge that could meet with the _Dragon/Opal _team.

He had sailed around after a few weeks and finally come back into Tortuga. It just seemed to call to him more so than any other town. Plus, he had exhausted his store of prisoners.

The only reason Barbossa had not had a mutiny yet was because the crew, even the cursed ones had put upon him demonic qualities. They had seen him raised from the dead, shot in the head, even shot three times with arrows, and not died. He wasn't cursed, that much was evident. But how did he do it? His skin had been bleached to a sickly grayish color, the whites of his eyes still a nasty yellow. His two prominent canines gave them reason to stay away from their captain, whose eyes burned with a light from within.

He walked down the main street in Tortuga, glancing around carefully for a perfect victim. He picked out a nice young woman, her décolletage displayed ridiculously. He had but to smile and meet her eyes and she was under the spell. He put an arm around her white shoulders and not long after, led her into an alley, where she died.

As Barbossa was emerging from said alley, a small woman brushed him and shrieked.

"'Tis you! The Devil's servant! Jou who will be claimed by de one, de very same who will lead him to his heir. Dey will both be jour end! Dough, dere, in her jour power lies. Take her blood to heart and jou'll not be stopped!" She collapsed at his feet and he wondered what the devil she was talking about. He stepped over her and returned to the ships.

…

Nick and the guide were mercilessly cleaving a way through the jungle to the distant cave where the man was supposed to have taken refuge in. They had been in that jungle for a week and that night, by the side of the campfire, Nick groaned. He had a killer headache that didn't want to go away no matter what he did. Considering how much aspirin he'd taken, one might have thought it would have relented but this was not the case. Nick's head was being torn apart.

The same night, the quarry, sensing people nearby, had actually found them, not the other way around, and decided to follow them.

The next day, Nick found a bruise on his arm, a deep red/purplish clot that seemed to have come from nowhere. He hadn't worried about it too much seeing as he had been pretty banged up over the last few days. His headache had subsided a little but still throbbed throughout his cranium. He didn't notice the bruise getting bigger, or that there were similar bruises blossoming all over his body.

By the time night fell, Nick had spiked a fever, but there were no instruments to tell him so. That night, the guide went to relive himself and never returned. He had just been swallowed up by the darkness, or so it seemed. Nick was oblivious to these happenings, leaning against a log, feeling his temperature rise dramatically. He had sneezed a few moments earlier, blood coming from his nose. He hadn't realized it because he was becoming delirious.

He had just shut his eyes, which were tinged with red, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"He's warm to the touch. Come on, we need to get him up to the cave."

Nick felt himself being lifted effortlessly and carried somewhere, he knew not where. He fell asleep blissfully, Ebola raging through his lanky body.

…

It was May now and the Caribbean had almost reached its peak, though it isn't saying much because even in winter, the Caribbean is the same, just a tad colder and much more volatile due to storms.

In the first few weeks of May, Scarlette turned eighteen. Elizabeth had turned nineteen two months before and Will, twenty, two before that. Jack had but a month before he'd be 32 and he was not looking forward to it. Was he really that old? Well, Norrington had him capped by a few years, as did practically all his crew except maybe Marty. Anamaria was only twenty-seven.

Jack thought about ages for a while. Scarlette had told him he was old on the ship and it was true, the time period saw nothing wrong with those two because of their ages. Her comment had started his mind going however.

Maybe he wouldn't live another sixty years. He'd almost been killed more than once just since he'd met Scarlette, mostly by Barbossa.

He shoved the topics from his mind and lounged on his bed, running fingers along the scar on his shoulder. He hadn't had time to know it very well, the other cicatrices having been with him for years already, excluding the one on his arm made by the chopstick.

It just occurred to him in that moment that he and Scarlette had both been given scars while separated that the other had as well. He mentally kicked himself. He had been so preoccupied the day he'd discovered the burn scar that he hadn't followed up to find out where it had come from.

He stood and stretched his back and limped for a moment, trying to wake his tingling leg up from its numbed status.

When he was able to walk unhindered, he strode across the hall and was about to barge in but decided better of it. He knocked lightly on the door and listened. He didn't hear anything but pushed open the door anyway.

She was sleeping with one arm thrown up over the pillows, the other lying across the base of her ribs. Again, Jack was surprised at how innocent she could appear to be while asleep.

He sat on the left side of the bed and lifted her sleeve to get a look at the wound. It was clearly a bullet wound, having sliced cleanly through the outer edge of skin, not doing much damage other than it had probably hurt a lot. The skin around the edges was still rough from the cauterization.

At his touch, she stirred, turning her head away from him and stretching her arms, settling down again with a sigh. That slight movement made him smile though he wasn't positive as to why his lips made such an expression.

He'd decided he'd ask her later, not wanting to wake her from her sleep.

As he looked back before he closed the door, he had a sudden sadness come over him, he wasn't sure why. He closed the door and left the room.

…

Nick awoke in a dark cave, his headache gone, the bruises receding into his skin and his eyes back to normal. Had it been a dream? Had he never come down with Ebola? He sat up and looked around him, not recognizing his surroundings. The mouth of the cave was dark as well but he could see a faint difference between the inside of the cave and the outside.

In fact, there seemed to be a tall figure in the mouth, faintly outlined by the gray light filtering through the trees. The figure walked into the cave and stoked a dying fire in the middle of the dusty floor. Nick caught sight of the figure's face in the glowing embers and vaguely recognized her. She had long red hair and was over six feet tall.

Belle Watling, no longer a fledgling, had alabaster skin and black eyes one might fall into if one were not careful. She was amazingly strong and she knew it. The figure that walked into the cave behind her was another familiar character. Barton stood tall and lean in the African cave, buried deep within the rain forest.

"Hello, Nick. It's been a very long time."

"It's only been a few months," Nick answered.

"For me, it has been 240 some years, give or take a few."

"So I was right. You survived and came here. When I heard about the man who could bite and save the people from Ebola, I knew it had to be you. You could do so many things I'd only heard of. Most vampires, according to my sister, don't develop powers like that."

"Yes," Barton nodded. "Your sister. That must be why you are here."

Nick nodded. "And her friends as well." He told them about the pictures. "I'm asking you to help me. You are more powerful now than you were then. Maybe you can bring them back."

"I know that I can," Barton stated. "Because my going to that world now would mean I was an outsider and the spell would treat her as an insider. It would work, only we need to time this right. Belle and I went off on our own after _the Pearl _docked in Port Royal. You need to be caught up on things. After you and your gang went back to your time, Jack left and ended up being killed."

"What?" Nick exclaimed. "Impossible!"

"You're right," Barton continued. "He surfaced some months later after he'd been hiding out. Most of the world thinks him dead. There's something else you need to know."

Nick was listening intently.

"Diana could not return because she had become cursed. Lizzy cannot return in that time because she had a spell performed on herself so that she may ... marry David and your sister could not return because her physical structure had changed. This may come as a shock to you, but you're about to become an uncle, or possibly, you already have."

Nick's mouth opened in shock but he quickly closed it. "You're lying. She'd never ... wait, there aren't condoms in that time. I'm guessing it's Jack's." Barton nodded, ignoring the rather lewd comment the boy had made.

Nick shook his head. "Of course. It was those damn fortune cookies. Mine was "_You will embark on a journey_." It all makes sense. Robin had "_You will meet someone new_." Lizzy's was "_You will be near the sea_." and Ryoko's, the one I don't quite get, was "_You will be of aid to someone_." "

"That one is not so strange," Barton told him. "Something you will learn later was that the only reason Jack had taken Scarlette with him was because of a prophecy, at first anyway. She was the one who would lead him to his heir. When he received the prophecy, all he knew was that the one he needed was the leader of the singing women. When he arrived here, Claudia had said she was the leader and he later found out it was your sister."

Nick's brows were furrowed. "So he basically used her?"

"Oh no," Barton corrected. "They had long grown used to each other before anything took place. In fact, they were married."

"I know about that part," Nick said. "But you make it sound like he only did it to procure an heir."

Barton nodded. "I believe that's how it began but you'll find when you spend quite a bit of time with someone, you tend to feel differently. When I sent you back, I believe Jack and Scarlette did not love each other. They were merely perfectly matched, but no love passed between them. I did not see anything remotely like that emotion until the child was actually born."

"Can you get me there?" Nick asked. Barton smiled and nodded.

"I shall take you back, boy, under one condition. You must not mention that Belle and I are from the future."

Nick nodded. "Don't worry about me."

"I am not worried about you, but about your sister," Barton said. "She knows quite a bit about our kind and she may be able to sense the difference in power. Magic has a tendency to act strangely around her for a very clear reason that you may never discover."

Nick shrugged. "Who knows? Let's go."

…

It was now June and Jack was sitting in the parlor, completely drunk. Mulligan was upstairs in Scarlette's room. It had begun and Jack, only two hours into it, had drunk himself silly. The maids did their best to ignore him, cleaning up his spills without a word. Heather had come down the stairs and found him sitting with his face in his dark hands.

She sat next to him and touched his shoulder. He peeked at her through his fingers, looking with one bloodshot eye.

"It will be fine, Jack," she told him. "You are worrying yourself to death."

"She's so small," he moaned. "What if I've killed her?"

Heather rubbed his shoulder. "Scarlette is strong, Jack. She's probably the strongest woman here."

"Stronger than Anamaria," Jack nodded. "Mulligan gave me this look of ... complete anger when he walked in the door. I don't know why he would do that except he knew something I didn't."

"Jack, you're becoming paranoid."

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, dammit! I'm not supposed to be worryin' 'bout things like this!"

Heather had to smile at that. He was acting like a child. "Relax, Jack. It'll be fine." She stood and took his numerous bottles of rum, no matter that a few still had liquid inside. She put them all back in the cupboard and sat back down. Jack hadn't even noticed.

At that moment, Nick came skidding into the parlor, all frantic, Barton and Belle had arrived with him and ran for cover, it being daylight. Nick was vaguely aware that they didn't burst into flame but began to bronze.

"Where is she? Where's Ryoko?"

"Scarlette? She's upstairs. Don't go up there, sit here, Nick."

"Why! I need to see her!"

"You can't see her for a while, boy," Heather told him. "She's up with the doctor and can't see anyone until her ordeal is over."

"Not even him?" Nick pointed at Jack, who was back with his face in his hands. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's drunk and worried," Heather told him. As if in response, Jack reached out to the table, his hand sliding across the polished wood. He opened his eyes and looked around suspiciously, searching for something.

"Why is the rum gone?" he asked grumpily.

"Because I put it away," Heather told him. She turned to Nick. "How did you get here?"

"Never mind about that. I've figured out a way to get the others back that couldn't go last time."

"How's that?" Heather asked.

"A new spell. You'll see, maybe tonight."

"But why is the rum gone?"

…

Barbossa fell suddenly. He'd been standing in his cabin and it was daytime, so he wasn't near the windows. He suddenly felt a jolt of power and fell to his knees.

"What the blazes was that?" he asked himself. He stood with a little difficulty and brushed himself off.

The jolt he'd felt had been when Barton had entered his timeline. This new Barton was extremely powerful. He would have been able to set Barbossa on fire just by looking at him.

Barbossa paced for a while, wishing the blasted sun would set. He never slept the whole day and was restless when he woke at midday and had nothing to do. The ship was very low maintenance seeing as most of the crew was impervious to danger.

Barbossa was letting the ship steer itself. He didn't know where he wanted to go and so he was letting the wind take him wherever it saw fit.

It was taking him towards the southern part of the Caribbean.

…

It was well after midnight and the ordeal was finally over. Scarlette sat on her bed, cradling the tiny thing to her chest. Though it had taken hours, from before noon to after midnight, everything had been fine. She was exhausted but alive.

Elizabeth had pulled back her hair for her, pinning it in place so that it wouldn't get in the way.

She remembered looking at the little squealing thing that the doctor handed her in a different way. When she'd seen Little Will she'd thought he looked like a goblin but, though her child looked much the same at first, it was beautiful. A wise woman once said that the child one bears will always be beautiful and the pain will be worth the joy. Scarlette for once knew what she was talking about. She had once responded slightly rudely to someone who'd asked her "Aren't babies special?" "No, not really."

But now, looking down into her child's little face, she could agree. The kid had a thin growth of black hair running along the delicate skin of the head. The eyes were slightly slanted and a bright blue. Scarlette could already detect traces of darker colors in the bright eyes and knew that they would darken as the child aged. She couldn't tell if they'd be green like hers or if they'd darken until they were nearly black.

"I need a name for you, little one," she whispered. The child was asleep, tiny noises coming from the small mouth.

There was a sound near the door and Scarlette looked up to find Lizzy. She smiled at her and entered the room, looking at the baby.

"She's so cute," Lizzy said quietly. "She's really little. Will was bigger than that when he was born but of course, both Elizabeth and Will are taller people. Have you decided on a name yet?"

"I have but Jack hasn't even been up here yet," Scarlette said, sitting up a little higher. The child stirred, blinked a few times, yawned, and went back to sleep. "Where is he?"

"He's still in the parlor with his head in his hands," Lizzy told her. "Mulligan hasn't told him yet. He's speaking to the maids now. Do you want me to go get him?"

"No," Scarlette answered. "If Mulligan hasn't told him yet, he'll be angry if you do it." There had been an odd moment when Mulligan had held the baby after it had been washed. A strange look had overcome him, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't quite bring himself to speak. He had snapped out of his funk and handed the child to Scarlette. Without saying anything, he had reached out and tipped Scarlette's face upwards and stared into her eyes in a very confused manner. Scarlette had blinked and frowned, asking him if something was wrong.

He'd backed away and vanished after that, rather bizarre behavior for a doctor.

At that moment, there were footsteps heard on the stairs. Jack appeared at the doorway, looking around wildly. Lizzy giggled and whispered to Scarlette, "He's been sitting in the parlor absolutely wrought with worry."

Scarlette smiled, wondering if he was worrying about her or the child. He looked at her and at the thing in her arms and broke into a smile for the first time that day. Lizzy left the room and gently closed the door.

Jack knelt by the bed, afraid to breathe for fear of everything crumbling. It was a bit ironic that Captain Jack Sparrow, the last real pirate threat in the Caribbean who had stood up to the British navy, the Spanish, the French, and the Chinese pirates as well as Barbossa and his crew of miscreants, was struck into silence by the tiny little thing in her arms.

She smiled at his reaction and spoke. "I'm sorry Jack."

He glanced up at her. "Why would you be sorry, luv?"

"I've given you a daughter," she told him, still smiling, though her eyes were a bit sad. "The prophecy is not fulfilled."

He looked up at her, shaking his head. "Why would you apologize for such a thing, luv?"

She looked him in the eye and spoke, keeping her voice steady. "I was afraid you'd be angry."

He laughed shortly. "Don't be silly. What will we be callin' her then? Should we name her Elise? No, not after mum. How 'bout Penelope. Penny for short, no, not good. Penny Sparrow? It doesn't have that ring to it. Have you any ideas?"

"I do," she answered. "Sharon."

"Ah," he said, nodding. "That's the one, I think. Sharon Elise. Is she asleep?"

Scarlette nodded and lifted the tiny bundle slightly. The child stretched, settling down in the new position.

"She's beautiful," Scarlette whispered. "I was worried for a few minutes that she was going to look like you."

Jack laughed softly and shook his head. "Not sure I deserved that." He sat down on the bed and took the little thing from her arms. Even swathed in blankets, the child hardly filled his hands. She opened her slanted eyes and stared up into his face.

There was a knock on the door, breaking the peaceful atmosphere. The candles fluttered as the door was opened. Nick looked in the room and saw his sister on the bed and Jack with the child. He curiously stepped in and looked at the little baby.

"It's so small," he pointed out. He looked up at his sister. "What's the name?"

"Sharon."

Nick grinned. "Good! That's a good idea! I'm glad you thought of that."

Jack looked thoroughly confused. "Am I missing something here?"

Scarlette smiled. "Sharon was our mother's name."

Jack smiled. "You do realize she's been named for both our mothers."

She nodded and the child began to whine, turning in Jack's hands and making pathetic little noises. He looked down at the moving bundle and smiled again. He handed the child off to Scarlette and Nick circled the bed, going to the left side.

Nick was looking at the kid but speaking to Scarlette. "I've found a way to get you guys back," he told her.

She looked up at him. "How?"

He smiled. "You'll find out, though I think we should wait until my niece is a little older to do so. You can't bring her with us because there would be too much to explain if you did. She should stay here with Jack."

"I'm not stayin' here," Jack muttered. "If she goes, I'm goin' too. Otherwise, how can I guarantee her return?"

Scarlette gave him a look. "Do you think I'd stay there?" He just gave her a dark look. She shrugged.

Nick looked from one to the other. The child was settling down again. "What if you can't go? What if you get stuck in our time? It goes two ways, you know. If you get stuck in the future, what good is it?"

"That would be bad," Scarlette assessed. "Especially with your face. You think Tortuga's bad. If you walked anywhere, you'd have horns being honked and possibly a gang of girls following you. And driving? I cannot imagine you in a car at all. I'm surprised you managed to brave that horse."

"It was just an idea," he said, shrugging.

…

Barbossa had taken a nap and woken shivering. There had been a woman's voice, like the one in Tortuga. And there had been Jack.

Barbossa had been dying and all he had seen was Jack and that woman. She had aimed a pistol at him and pulled. The flash had woken him. He sat up in a daze, aware that night had fallen.

"What did she say?" He asked himself. "The one who ... my end is by the one who will lead him to his heir. Is that Scarlette? It makes sense. In that case, I'm sorry Jack, but I must go back on my promise to you. I will kill her before she can kill me. But wait, her blood? If taken to heart will make me unstoppable. Hmm. Now there's something."

He put his coat on and tightened his belt. He threw open the door and stood over the crew.

"Men;" he announced. "We be bound for Port Royal."

…

What's gonna happen? I don't even know, sorry to disappoint you. Sword fights with dowel rods in the quad of Grants Pass High school. Very funny, especially since there was about 150 people watching from all over the campus. Yes, I was dressed like Jack Sparrow. My opponent was dressed like Will, hee, hee, hee.

**Revisited 1-18-07 1:51am**


	19. Chapter XVIII : Happiest Place on Earth

Hi there. How're you doin'? Fine? Fine. Well, then. Off we go.

**Chapter XVIII –Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth**

By the middle of July, it was not clear whom Sharon was taking after. Her eyes had darkened to a brilliant green but the thick hair that grew quickly on her head was black. Her skin had remained a golden tan that seemed to be between them, Scarlette being an olive and Jack being much darker.

One thing was certain, with two small children in the house, there wasn't much time for anything else. Will was dangerous to be around because of his ... habit but Sharon didn't do things like that. She was much louder than Will, however. This had been discovered in the parlor when Will was screaming. Sharon didn't yell very often but when she did, the sound was devastating. Will's screams had triggered hers and she let out a squall that made Little Will shut his mouth and look around for the source of the noise.

Barton came in one night, the future Barton, but no one but Nick knew that. He was carrying a string of beads this time, golden beads, to be exact. All the future girls gathered around him along with Nick and David.

"I don't know where this is going to send you. I stole it off a tourist," Barton told them. Nick knew exactly what he was talking about. The others shrugged it off and grabbed a hold of the beads. Scarlette looked down at Sharon and smiled. She placed the small bundle in Jack's lap and stood, walking to the group.

Jack stood and stepped up as well. "I'm going with you."

Scarlette looked at him with a slightly exasperated glare. "No, you're not, Jack. You have to stay here with Sharon."

"Oh, don't worry about the child, Scarlette," Elizabeth told her. "I'll watch over her. It's not a problem at all."

"There, see," Jack pointed out. "Everything is fine. Now scoot over and let me in." He allowed Angelique to take Sharon into the room where Little William was sleeping.

"This is a bad idea," Scarlette groaned, but Barton dropped the blood and everyone disappeared.

…

"I knew this was a bad idea," Scarlette exclaimed, pulling Jack along quickly. "We're all going to be mobbed! They're going to wonder if I'm supposed to be Elizabeth."

They had landed ironically in New Orleans Square at; you guessed it, Disney Land. Scarlette had tucked the beads into one of Jack's pockets and grabbed his arm, pulling him farther down the lane where there were less people. The other future kids followed her.

"Well, one thing's for sure, that new spell is more powerful," Scarlette stated. "I could feel it. There was a lot of power behind that transfer. I also have a theory as to why we are here. These are Mardi Gras beads like the ones they toss out of the bayou balcony. They aren't made of gold, so I wonder if the paint itself doesn't have some in it."

"What is this place?" Jack asked, looking up. The future girls looked at him and started laughing.

"Jack," Scarlette stated. "Remember some of the times I said 'never mind?' Well, this just happens to be one of those things. Welcome to Disneyland."

"The Happiest Place on Earth," Heather added.

…

"I guess, since we're here," Lizzy said, holding David's hand. "We should check out the rides. I think we should do Pirates first."

Jack and David were lost for words. They meekly followed the future kids towards the queue. Jack looked up and read the sign. "Pirates of the Caribbean. What's this?"

Scarlette grinned, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. "You'll find out."

They stood in the line, hoping Jack wouldn't be mobbed by over enthusiastic fans of the movie. Luckily, most of the people in the line moved out of the way when they saw him, and they got through the line relatively quickly. (What right does the author have to call them "over enthusiastic fans" eh?)

The workers on the ride were surprised. "Wow, sir. Is this publicity? I wasn't told about this. Are these new cast members? Extras?" Jack didn't know what they were talking about so Scarlette took over, speaking quickly.

"He just felt like doing something different today, miss," she didn't realize it, but Scarlette had developed an accent. She had spent way too much time in the Caribbean.

They luckily got a boat all to themselves. Scarlette put Jack between her and David. She didn't want either of them jumping off in fright or anything.

"Okay, Jack, David, nothing in this place is real. They aren't really going to kill anyone. This is just for entertainment. Think of it as a play or something." They nodded curiously as the boat passed the bayou. There was a shout and two girls rushed to the edge of the railing, waving their giddy heads off.

"Look! Is that who I think it is?"

"Cool! Hey! Over here!"

"They're waving at you, Jack," Robin told him from behind.

"Why? Do they know me?"

More giggles from the future girls. The skull above them began to talk, the light on it making Jack glance up in wonder.

_"So ye be seeking salty ol' pirates, eh? Well ye come to the proper place. But Mark well me words, matey. Plunderin' pirates lurk in every cove, lookin' ta board. So sit closer together, and keep yer ruddy hands inboard. That be the best way to repel boarders. There be squalls ahead. Best be careful of what ye hear, for dead men tell no tales."_

"Cotton ..." Jack whispered. The little boat came to the fall, you all know where it is, and the two men on the boat flinched, thinking the boat was about to capsize.

Well, they made it through the ride without shooting anyone, though it was a close thing. Jack almost took out the dummy on the cannon but Scarlette grabbed the pistol from him.

"Hey look," Heather pointed out during the wench scene. "There's Scarlet from Tortuga."

"This does look a bit like Tortuga," Jack said. "Where are we again? Why is it so dark? Is it nighttime?"

"Jack," Scarlette said, somewhat amused. "Relax. We aren't in danger."

They happened upon the ship scene where _The Wicked Wench _was shooting at the fort. Blackbeard stood in the ship waving his sword around.

"He sounds like Barbossa," Jack grunted, ducking every time a cannon went off.

"Apparently, they're going to redo parts of the ride," Nick offered from the back.

"What? Why?" Lizzy asked, slightly angered.

"Well, they want to put certain people in some of the vignettes." On 'certain people' Nick pointed at Jack and rolled his eyes.

"Interesting," Robin put in. "I don't know if that's a good idea or not."

After the pirate ride, Scarlette was afraid to take them anywhere else. It was Robin who suggested the solution.

"I think we should split up," she said. "Our group is getting too much attention. Nick, didn't you say you had some money somewhere?"

"Yeah," he said. "Why?"

"We need to get out of these clothes," she answered. "Jack and Scarlette should stay dressed but we need street clothes, and fast."

Nick and the others took off, leaving Jack and Scarlette in New Orleans Square. She turned to him. "Are you up for this?"

He grinned. "Is that a challenge?'

She shrugged. "If you want to make it one. Nothing here will hurt you Jack so I would unload the pistol, just in case."

He shook his head. "I won't forget. That was just such a shock, something I was used to."

"Yeah well, get ready for ghosts next. There's the Haunted Mansion."

"Is it really haunted?"

"Actually, there's a rumor that Pirates is haunted. There supposed to be a guy named George who died around the scene with the dog."

"Ah, that bloody stupid dog," Jack said tiredly, shaking his head.

"Supposedly," She said, walking towards the Mansion. "If you say you don't believe in George, or a cast member doesn't say good morning and good night to George, the ride will bog down there. If you believe such things, that is."

Jack shrugged. "I know the minute I say I don't believe in ghosts, I'm going to be proven wrong."

They got in line to the Haunted Mansion amongst staring people and excited little kids. Jack tried not looking at anyone, particularly not young women who kept trying to catch his eyes.

…

Jack didn't freak immediately. He stayed relatively calm until the end when the doom buggies passed the mirrors and the hitchhikers were seen in the reflection. From his position, it looked as if the ghost was sitting on him. He frantically began to swat at the apparition, hitting himself in the lap area with Scarlette staring at him. She grabbed his wrists.

"It's all right. There's nothing there. It's only an illusion, a trick. It's fine. There isn't a ghost. Geez, I feel like I'm talking to a child."

After that, Jack was still shaken. She took him over near _The Columbia_ and made him sit down.

She pulled out the beads and carefully broke one of the blood stained ones off, putting it in his hand.

"What's this?" he asked.

"I'm sending you back," she told him. "I can't possibly take care of you right now. I'm going to have to go and get clothes and such and you being here will add to the problem."

There was a loud bang the Columbia's cannon discharged. Jack jumped and his pistol was halfway out of his pants before he controlled himself. The man on the ship could be heard from there, telling the people on deck that the pirates were certain to stay away now.

"I don't want to leave you here," he told her. "It's dangerous, and what reason might you have for being here?"

"Jack," she told him. "I was born here." She closed his hand over the bead and he was gone.

…

Jack landed on the divan only an hour and a half after they had departed. Elizabeth screamed, sending the babies into a fit of squalls. Will came running but relaxed when he saw Jack.

"What happened?"

Jack was holding the bead up. "She sent me back."

Elizabeth stood and put the little child on his lap. Sharon was a little over a month old. She stared up at him and smiled, grabbing onto one of his bead strings and gently pulling. He sighed and smiled down at her, throwing the beads over his shoulder. They obstinately slid back down into her reach.

Elizabeth was watching him as he shook his head, making the ornaments swing. Sharon was looking all around in wonder, not quite old enough for quick reactions. Her ears had already been pierced, as seemed to be a tradition with children according to Robin in her time. The little stones in the earrings were pearls. Jack smiled.

"She has the same birth stone I do," he pointed out. "Pearls. Of course, she looks better in them than me."

Elizabeth was smiling. She definitely liked the changes that had occurred in Jack. He had become softer somehow, no matter that he still joked vulgarly and made his random comments. Seeing him with his tiny daughter in his lap, a pleased smile crossing his face as she wrapped her dainty little hand around one of his fingers made Elizabeth think better of him.

Elizabeth looked to her own son sleeping against her stomach and was glad of the past events that had led to Jack becoming what he was.

…

Barbossa sailed around the coast of Jamaica that night, grinning evilly as he beheld the beacon of Port Royal, fixed upon the very battlements of Fort Charles.

"This'll be a piece of cake," he muttered. "Mallot! Grapple! First place we hit is the jail, got it? Ragetti and Pintel are still in there, along with that idiot Dante. Koehler and Twigg, I'll leave it to you to grab Sparrow's widow and why not get Elizabeth while yer at it. Careful though, that Will Turner's a bit of a stick."

And so, while _the Pearl _was tucked nicely in a back water cay as usual, _the Dragon _and _Opal's Revenge _sailed silently towards the fort, gliding almost invisibly in the fog.

The first cannon ball ripped through the night and crashed into the fort, knocking out a wall in the jailhouse. The occupants woke and stared at the hole that had appeared in an empty cell of all things.

"S'at Barbossa?" Ragetti asked, pulling himself to his feet by using the bars. "His aim's a bit off."

"Yes!" Pintel exclaimed. "We're getting' outta dis dump! Finally!"

…

Jack sat up immediately, hearing the cannons. He threw on clothes, placing his hat and coat on in remarkable speed. He slipped into his boots and heard the unmistakable sound of Norrington shouting orders above the battlements.

"Fire at the Man of War! That's a Chinese ship! Take her out first! Then take down the privateer. Aim at her broad side, men! Fire at will!"

"Blast," Jack cursed. "It's Barbossa. He said he wouldn't attack Port Royal! Lying bastard. Will pinned him right on the head." He slipped on his belts and holsters, the sound of his movements very quiet compared to the screams and cannon fire.

He hurried down the stairs and was there to hear the gunshot as two men entered the house. He looked down the banister and caught sight of two of his former shipmates, Twigg and Koehler. He was about to bolt for it, knowing Barbossa should not know he was alive, when he heard a cry coming from his room. It was Sharon.

He bolted up the stairs without a thought, drawing the attention of the two pirates. They ran up after him, not seeing who he was. He grabbed a heavy cabinet stationed in the hall and shoved it down the stairs, breaking vases and other such things within the shelves, including his rum bottles. Elizabeth and Will had poked their faces out of their room.

"Barbossa's attacking Port Royal," Jack explained as he shoved the cabinet down on the pursuing men. "Get out as soon as you can. Take Little Will and run. Meet me at the Northern border. We'll go to _the Pearl _from there. Hurry!"

"What about Jadent?" Elizabeth cried.

Jack glanced at the shut door and frowned.

Jack kicked Jadent's door and rushed into his own, lifting Sharon from her little bed and wrapping her in a blanket. He hastened out the door but saw Koehler coming up.

"You there! Come down and die like a man." Jack returned to the room and slammed the door shut, setting Sharon on the bed. He pulled a bureau across the door, barricading it. A shot rang out and splintered part of the door, making Jack duck. He scooped up the child and headed for the window, knowing that the trellis stood there. He began to shimmy down, holding the child with one hand. The trellis groaned under his weight but held until he was a good ten feet from the ground. A cannon ball ripped through the night, hitting the trellis below his feet and splintering it, the white wood tearing away from the wall once again.

Jack shouted and landed hard on his back. The trellis fell over him and he rolled to keep Sharon from being hit. Quite a few pirates were running up the walk with torches and screaming their heads off. They couldn't see him because of the trellis but Sharon was crying loudly and it was only a matter of time before the noise attracted them. Jack rolled out from under the trellis and sprinted for the Northern side of Port Royal, Sharon cradled to his chest.

Grapple stopped short, pointing out the running man. "Look, Mallot. Don't he look familiar?"

Mallot looked at the sprinting Jack and scratched his head. "I can't recall, plus it's hard to see. Who'd you picture it be?"

Grapple shrugged. "He just looked familiar. I guess not. Come on." They ran into the house and began to, well, pirate.

Scratch looked out one of the upstairs windows and saw Will, Elizabeth, Bootstrap, and Topher running towards the Northern side. He called to his comrades and told them where the Turner's were headed.

…

The four of them, plus Little Will, were running swiftly, Elizabeth actually barefooted. Topher and Bootstrap were on guard and Will was scouting ahead.

Suddenly, without warning, a brace of men, all grimy and armed to the teeth, jumped from the trees and the four runaways were thrown into a swashbuckling battle. Will was taking on three men, each bigger than himself. He was swinging two blades in such a fury that the cold steel they were folded from blurred in the night. The moon appeared, revealing two of the three to be cursed men. Will's eyes grew wide and one of the men knocked him down with the butt of his gun.

Topher and Bootstrap were slashing with their blades as well, Topher stopping to reload his pistol, pouring the primer in and matching up the pan with the cap. A pirate knocked him to the ground but he fired into the fiend's stomach, bowing him over. Bootstrap was getting shocked looks enough from men that remembered him that he was faring well in battle, having the element of surprise.

Koehler was up in the house, searching the empty building. The servants had fled earlier, when the first cannon blasts had rocked the town. He and Twigg had gotten annoyed. Scarlette wasn't there and the man they'd seen on the stairs had escaped.

Koehler, glancing around, noticed other rooms in the house had been left open. He ran to the other side of the third floor and looked out the windows. He could see Elizabeth standing alone, the baby clutched to her chest.

"Looky, Twigg," he pointed. "There's the other wench. Let's go get her since Sparrow ain't here."

Twigg nodded and they both rushed down the stairs. Jadent opened his door and followed them. He had to save Elizabeth! His baby cousin was going to get kidnapped if he didn't do something. He rushed down the stairs and tackled Twigg, knocking him to the ground. Koehler didn't even stop. He ran outside and rushed at Elizabeth as the men were fighting. She saw him and turned to run but her bare feet were tender.

Jadent ran after him, tall enough that he drew even. Koehler threw him off. They began to grapple for a moment and a ball shot ripped into Jadent's thigh from another pirate. He crumpled like a doll and Koehler grabbed Elizabeth who had been tripped. Little Will was sitting on the ground crying, the dirt from the ground mixing with his tears. Koehler roughly pulled Elizabeth to her feet and looked at the kid, pulling out his saber. She screamed and began to thrash wildly. Koehler looked to her and thought better of it, dragging her off in the direction of shore.

Jadent crawled to the bawling child, dragging his wounded leg. He tucked him into the crook of his arm and managed to limp to one of the numerous shacks in Port Royal. Cannon balls continued to rip through the air, smashing everything in their path, and the pirates flooded the town.

…

Jack luckily didn't encounter anyone on his way down to _the Pearl_. He met Bootstrap, Topher, an unconscious Will, but no Elizabeth.

"Where's Elizabeth?"

"They've taken her!" Topher exclaimed. "Jadent's gone, too, though I don't know where."

Jack nodded. He handed Sharon, who had quieted a bit to Bootstrap and lifted Will to put him over Topher's shoulders. "Go to _the Pearl_. Bootstrap, tell them they're not to go after _the Dragon _or _the Opal_. I'm going to find Jadent. They weren't here for me so I don't think they know I'm still alive. My guess is they're here for Scarlette." He ran off without another word and the others trudged to _the Pearl_, carrying Will and Sharon.

Jack ran through the town, which the pirates were vacating, shouting for Jadent. He heard an answer from one of the wooden beggar shacks and he broke down the door.

Jadent was sitting inside with the infant pressed to his chest, both of them dirt streaked. Jack held out his hand and Jadent took it, Jack pulling him up.

"Where're you wounded, man?" Jack asked.

"Hip," he grunted. Jack nodded.

"This is going to hurt so hang onto the wall. Set Willy down for a moment." Jack knelt and tore a bit of the cloth around the wound. He pulled out his knife and prodded around for a bit. "Ah." He picked the bullet out a little and pulled it the rest of the way out with his fingers.

"That's gotta be cleaned once we get on the ship," Jack told him. "Can you walk?"

Jadent nodded. "With help."

"Great, here. Hold the kid. Put your arm around my shoulder. Wrong side, here, stand on my left so I can have my right side free for attack."

They hobbled down to _the Pearl_, Will screaming all the way.

…

"I feel really weird," Scarlette told her friends. She was dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt that had the words "Got Rum?" on the front. Her hair was pulled back and held with chopsticks. She'd kept her boots.

"You look weird too," Lizzy pointed out. "I'm used to you wearing dresses or being dressed like Jack."

"These pants don't fit very well," she said, looking at herself in the restroom mirror. "Are you sure these are size 3?"

"You've lost a lot of weight," Claudia told her. "You're almost as skinny as me."

Scarlette turned around, trying to look at her backside. "It's been a whole year! Can you believe it? Diana and I have been stuck in the 18th century for a year."

Claudia elbowed Scarlette, knocking her off center so that she stumbled. "You sure enjoyed yourself. Look what you snagged for a husband. We never did get all those juicy details. Come on, Ryoko. Tell us all about it."

Scarlette blushed, an occurrence she'd grown out of, used to the embarrassment of Jack's goading and her friends' questions. "I don't wanna tell you guys. Leave me alone, all right."

"Ooh," Heather goaded.

Robin smiled. "You're definitely different. You used to say you'd never get married or have kids."

"I did tell him that," Scarlette answered, picking up the backpack she'd been given. Everyone was fitted in clothes from the 21st century, even David, who looked a bit strange and felt the same way Scarlette did.

"Well," she said with a flourish. "I still know Disneyland better than any of you, so let's go."

"I bet I know more," Heather shot. They looked at each other in challenge.

"We'll see," Scarlette grinned, mirroring Jack. They left the restroom and met up with the guys.

…

Elizabeth was pulled rudely onto the deck of _The Opal's Revenge_. She was surrounded by pirates, some familiar, some not. Barbossa was there, sans monkey, of course. It seemed to be a repeat of their first encounter. She looked defiantly up at him.

"Hello, Mrs. Turner," he growled. "How be ye farin' since last we met?"

"Why are you doing this?"

He smiled shallowly. "Oh, Mrs. Turner. Need I an occasion to pillage a town?"

"This is the second promise you've broken just in one act," she shouted at him. "You told me you'd never return once I gave you that medallion and you promised Jack."

"Ah," he growled. "So Mrs. Sparrow told ye of me little visit last Christmas. Where be Jack's woman, hmm?"

Elizabeth paused and met his eyes defiantly, even though she knew she shouldn't. "She's not here."

"Gone back to her future after Jack's death, I imagine," Barbossa assessed. Elizabeth kept her mouth shut. It would do no good to tell him that Jack was alive. In fact, it would probably be worse than it was now.

"Well, missy," he growled. "You'd best be writin' a letter to Mr. Turner. He'd better get Barton, the mutinous bastard, to know that I want that girl back here and on my ship if he ever wants to see ye again."

She scowled at him. "Why? Jack is dead, what further damage could you do to her?"

Barbossa grinned, his nasty teeth glinting in the moonlight. "I'll be keepin' me plans to meself this time, Mrs. Turner."

He shoved her into the cabin and locked the door from the outside. She looked around the cabin and gritted her teeth. Time to take a page out of Scarlette's book.

…

Will awoke and began frantically searching for Elizabeth. "Where is she? What have they done with her?"

"Relax, boy," Bootstrap told him. "She's been kidnapped by that ape Barbossa."

"Relax?" Will exclaimed, his energy increasing. "How can I relax! We must save her!"

"Not until we receive his terms," Jack said from his corner. "It's useless to go after them now. We're bound to receive a letter since we don't know why they've taken her."

Will looked over at Jack and scowled. "You always have an excuse to not do something."

Jack looked over in a foul mood. "You shouldn't be so judgmental, Will. I am almost certain the terms will be something like "Scarlette for Elizabeth." Where I know Scarlette would fare better against pirates than Elizabeth, do you think I would want to give her up to them?"

Will said nothing but swallowed. Jack nodded. "It's by pure luck that Scarlette wasn't here when they decide to raid."

"What makes you think they're after Scarlette?" Bootstrap asked.

"Call it a hunch," Jack said. "But Barbossa doesn't like to leave loose ends. It might even be Sharon he's after. Doesn't want anyone taking revenge for my death."

Will gasped. "Where's William?"

"He's safe," Jack answered. "Jadent grabbed him and ran after Elizabeth was taken." Will sighed in relief. He didn't ask about Jadent's well being.

Jadent had been to Stevenson and had his leg cleaned up and cauterized. He was asleep at the moment, gently swinging in a hammock with the movement of the sea.

Anamaria came into the room, a child in each arm. She handed them off to their respective fathers and sat down. They had been washed carefully and fed watered down goat's milk but a ship, especially one as ... populated with men as _the Pearl_, was no place for children as young as they were. They couldn't live on goat's milk for long, either.

"So we wait," Jack said. "In a few hours, I'm going to send the crew a town. They'll take care of any of Barbossa's men left."

Will shook his head. "Will they kill her?"

"No," Bootstrap answered. "They've no reason and they can gain more by using her to get at their goal. They wouldn't have taken her without a reason. Barbossa has the idea that no quarter is given to captives and he wouldn't take them on unless he sent his men to collect them specifically."

Will looked lost for words. He sighed and sat back on the bed, Little Will sitting on his stomach.

…

Splash Mountain, Small World, Tom Sawyer's Island, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, Teacups, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones, Tarzan's Tree house, Tiki Room, Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, Pinocchio, Snow White, Peter Pan, Monorail, Star Tours, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Autopia, and finally, Pirates of the Caribbean, again.

One thing _wasn't_ for certain. Who knew DL better, Scarlette or Heather. Heather knew about everything, but as for _where_ everything was and which lines were shorter, Scarlette knew all that, no map needed. She even knew where a lot of the hidden Mickeys were.

"Look, on that pillow," she shouted in the Mansion. "Donald duck, a bit abstract, but it's there."

She knew quite a bit about the pirates ride as well. This girl was insane.

"There's the Hidden Goofy," she pointed out, looking back from the boat. "This ride is 16:50 long. If one were to walk straight through the cue and go out through the pirate store, it would be close to 20 minutes, without the wait. Pirates was actually the first ride to end in a gift shop. If you notice, that ship is called _The Wicked Wench_. The left line is shorter than the right, depending on how many people are in it of course. This ride is sort of ironic now that I think of it. You see that picture there of that woman? Yeah, the one with the hair over her basoomas. That's Scarlet, the wench in a later scene. This is supposed to be present day and going past that doorway with the narrator skull is like going back in time, much like we did. That chess game there," she pointed to two skeletal pirates at a table with a board on it. "It's set in a stalemate, although debatably so. You see, for the king to be in the position he's in, he'd have to have either not moved out of check, meaning the other player didn't checkmate, or have moved _into_ a check. The positions have been worked out and it _is_ arranged in a stalemate, but impossibly so. Those positions are impossible to gain according to the rules of chess. It's just an arranged game, imaginary."

"We're gonna have to ride this again," Claudia groaned. "Scarlette's talking through the whole thing and to make it even funnier, she sounds like Jack!"

"Sorry 'bout that," she added. "I can't help it. My voice just seems to do that now."

"At least she's not calling everyone "luv" or "eunuch"," Kristin added.

"Good point," Heather agreed. "I'm still not giving up. Tell us something else, smarty pants."

"Well, then," she continued. "Since you asked, Disneyland and Disneyworld each have a different version of Pirates. The one in Florida is like nine minutes long and the water falls are different. These ones take us farther down because we need to go under the railroad."

"You've never been to Florida," Lizzy pointed out.

"No," Scarlette agreed. "But I used to have internet. Anyway, the whole reason for the waterfalls is so that the boats can pass under the damn railroad tracks placed all over the park. Who knows who Paul Frees is?"

No one said anything. Scarlette continued. "You know that bass voice you hear in the Mansion, Pirates, and a lot of other Disney stuff? That's him. He's also the Grinch's voice actor, and I believe he's Sher Kahn from the Jungle Book. Boris Badinov, and Thurl Ravenscroft. I think he might have done something for Bed Knobs and Broomsticks as well."

"I think I know who that is," Heather said. "He's the auctioneer guy. And he played Blackbeard on that ship!"

"Aye," Scarlette agreed. "I forgot to mention those."

"Okay, shut up now," Nick groaned.

Scarlette grinned. "Look. The pirates _are _chasing the women, except the last one, where the pirate who looks like the guy who got that golden thing stuck on his head in the movie. He's carrying a ham or something. There's the guy in front of the barrel. He's supposed to be holding a pair of undergarments or something. Listen to what he says."

"_She's stolen me treasure, she has. I be willin' ta share if ye help me find it_."

"What he's supposed to say is, _'I'd like to hoist me colors on the likes of that shy little wench. if ye help me find her, I be willin' ta share, I be.'"_

"That's not that different," Kristin said.

"Yeah it is," Robin argued. "He went from wanting to "have his way" with her to getting his treasure back."

Scarlette laughed for no good reason at all except that she was relating the quotes to their own experiences. She started laughing again as the wench scene came up.

"You see that guy?" she pointed at a semi well dressed pirate that had a vaguely familiar face. "That's old Abe Lincoln, taken from the old square. They dressed him up and fixed a few things but basically our sixteenth pres. is selling women in Tortuga."

That brought a few laughs. Not only were the girls from the story listening, but the other passengers as well.

Finally, they reached the jail scene and the girls went wild. After they calmed down, Scarlette told them about the prisoners.

"The one nearest the dog is modeled after Sid Caesar, one of Walt Disney's buddies, the white haired one is an old janitor for WDI, and the one in the nightshirt can also be seen in Haunted Mansion. He has the same face as the caretaker."

"Okay," Claudia said perkily as they exited the gift shop. "Let's do that again, without the audio commentary."

"You win," Heather relented.

…

Barbossa opened the cabin door and a chunk of wood exploded from the frame. Elizabeth screamed and tossed her now empty pistol at him. She picked up a pair of swords from the bed and rushed at the vampire captain.

"What the devil do you think you're doing, woman?" He brought up his sword but was caught so much unguarded that she knocked it easily from his hands. She brought both swords down towards him and he caught them in his hands. Blood ran from his palms but he refused to let go of the blades. He wrenched them from her and grabbed her by the throat. His fingers held her motionless, not killing, not choking, but not relenting either.

"Nice try, Mrs. Turner."

…

Elizabeth was seated as a heavy wooden desk, writing her letter to Will. She had started several times, wondering how to say what she wanted without Barbossa knowing what she had written. She knew he would read the letter. Something occurred to her and rather than continue, she confirmed her thoughts.

"Barbossa," Elizabeth called. "Do you happen to speak French?"

"No," he snapped at her. "Why?"

She shrugged. "I was just curious. They might send Angelique, my French maid, to get the letter. I want her to know what to do with it."

Barbossa waved his hand in dismissal. "Do what ye need to. Just get me that wench."

Elizabeth nodded and went back to her work, grinning. She wanted to know if it was safe to write about Jack or not.

She was writing furiously in French with Barbossa sitting ominously behind her. She was writing about how Barbossa didn't know about Jack or Bootstrap and that could be used to their advantage. The terms were included, Scarlette for Elizabeth. She added in detail about the ship and crew and possible weaknesses until Barbossa grew irritable enough to make her stop. He knew she was up to something and so rather than let her keep writing, he took the paper away.

"Yer done, wench. Gimme that." He pulled it from her grasp, folding the pages neatly and sticking them in an envelope. Dripping some green candle wax onto the paper, he pressed his ring into the cooling puddle, forming a seal.

"This ought to do it," he grunted, giving the envelope to Twigg to take. He dropped him off at the shore and he ran and deposited the letter in the Turner slot.

…

A few hours later, the crew of _the Pearl _made a sweep of Port Royal, counting thirteen dead, four wounded, of Barbossa's crew, anyway. There were several more than that of the actual citizens.

These four were interrogated on _the Pearl_. None of them knew anything at all. Someone was sent to see if the bastard had left a note. It took a few hours and a lot of brainstorming but they found the letter in the Turner box at the post office. Finally, with a cry of frustration, Jack grabbed the letter. It was all written in French and he wanted to strangle Elizabeth. He couldn't read a word of it! All the French he'd learned while recovering seemed to leave him in a moment of stress.

He gave it to Will, who translated through it quickly. The terms were as he'd thought. Scarlette for Elizabeth.

Jack sighed in indignation. "But why? Why would Barbossa want to get his hands on Scarlette so badly? He doesn't need her blood, not to unlock any curses anyway. I can only think he wants to kill her. Why, though? Once I was out of the way, everyone was supposed to be safe. He shouldn't have thought her a threat once I was dead. According to this, he doesn't know about me yet."

"Maybe he was in Tortuga," Bootstrap suggested. "The Oracle hadn't just seen your future, Jack. When she received the prophecy, she got wind of Barbossa as well."

Jack was suddenly attentive, his eyes wide open, seemingly bigger because of the thick black line around them. "What haven't you told me, Bill?"

Bootstrap hesitated. "Scarlette isn't just the key to your heir Jack. She was set to be one of the main factors in Barbossa's death as well."

Jack's eyes returned to their normal squinted status. "That's interesting."

Bootstrap nodded. "Aye. 'Twas destiny's hand, that one. Had Barbossa not come back, she'd have never come here. Everything is a catalyst to the next."

"That's very interesting," Jack said again, looking down at his right hand, which lacked his ring.

…

The ring was swinging around a chain on Scarlette's neck as she and her friends walked around Disneyland. They had dropped by both the Jungle Cruise and one of the shops in Frontier Land to say hello to people they knew who worked there. Scarlette had known one of them from the Rose parade and the other from school. Lizzy and Claudia knew the one in the shop as well.

They were walking along Adventure Land and Scarlette sneezed. A shiver went up her back and she almost heard voices. Hearing things was understandable in the crowded avenue, but it was not the crowd she'd heard. She stopped dead, her hand to her throat. Her friends turned back.

"What's wrong?" Diana asked. She was happy because the curse wasn't affecting her there.

"I'm not sure," she said. "But something feels wrong. It doesn't feel right. Something's happening."

"Come to think of it," Robin said. "I am getting a weird feeling."

"Could it be back ... there?" Lizzy asked in a frightened voice.

"Probably," Kristin agreed. They were all crowded together near the Tropical Imports stand.

"I have an idea," Nick said suddenly. "But we need to leave the park."

"That's fine," Heather said. "We've already done everything. What's your plan?"

…

Jack was lying on the bed in his cabin, alone blissfully. Everyone had returned to the house and they had insisted on taking Sharon with them. He had argued but in the end, allowed his daughter to be carried protectively in Bootstraps arms. A pirate ship was no place for an infant.

There was a noise somewhere in the cabin and Jack sat up, immediately alarmed. What he saw before him surprised him for a moment, but he soon understood.

Scarlette stood in the middle of the cabin, blue jeans held up with a studded belt, her old boots from this time, her hair held up in the chopsticks, the hoop earrings swooping over her neck. Her black shirt, he noticed, had white letters across the front. "Got Rum?" He rather liked that shirt, he decided. Something was different about her eyes.

The surprising thing about her was the hardware. Nick the genius had struck again, acquiring fake ID's and registrations for anything they would need. The kid was good at things like that. There was a double hip holster along with a shoulder rig for a right hand draw. Those were the guns. The knives were slightly less visible, the sheaths looking a bit like bracelets at her wrists, one on her upper right arm. Two more knives were strapped to her thighs. There was a sword on her back, a bit like Xena the Warrior Princess, which had been Robin's idea.

The others were acquiring their hardware but had decided for a message before hastening over to this time. All Scarlette had to do was write the message and stick it to the beads in her hand, which were actually half of the original strand, minus the one bead for Jack.

"Lovely, darlin'," he said. "I especially like the shirt. Is all this supposed to intimidate me?" He stepped up, smiling at her, his swagger ever present. He stopped in front of her, placing his hands on her arms below the scar and knife. Her sleeves were short enough that both were showing plainly.

"Are you going to answer my question now, or am I going to have to squeeze it from you?" He compressed her arms lightly, his thumbs feeling just how strong her muscles were. She hadn't touched a tuba in an entire year, nor had she done any of the supposed ritual pushups but there was still strength there.

"You're not getting it from me willingly," she told him smiling up at him. "Would you try to threaten me for the answer with all this attached to me? Just because I'm short doesn't mean I'm harmless."

He touched the tip of her nose. "You wouldn't hurt me, luv. Your height has nothing to do with it." A sigh accompanied this as she assessed the difference between them. He smiled again. "At least you're not Marty."

"The midget?"

"They prefer to be called "Little People" luv," he told her. "Now, about my answer—"

"Jack," she interrupted, turning away. "What will you do if I stay in my time?"

He knitted his eyebrows. "What makes you say that?"

"Well," she began. "You still do not have an heir. Do you intend to keep me here with you until circumstance leads to one?"

Jack shrugged. "I could always get you drunk." She turned and gave him a fierce look. He shrugged and did a little drunken nod. "Just kidding." He moved towards her and brought a hand up to her face. "The thing is, Scarlette. I wouldn't mind at all if you stayed here with me. Even Barbossa's said so. We're too alike not to have met to some purpose. We've got entirely too much in common not to be drawn to each other."

She was looking at him with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Is this some round about way of getting your answer?"

He smiled and exhaled quickly through his nose. "I'm not saying that. Like I said before, what's bloody love got to do with it? It's not love, as you pointed out early on, but there's something there, enough to keep us from seeking other things."

She looked up at him with a wistful expression on her face. He realized what was different about her eyes. They were rimmed in black, much like his own. "You know Jack, when I found out about Sharon, I wished that I loved you, just to have what I had always wanted. A wise author I once read wrote that in wishing it, I really did. I'm not sure if that's true but I'll be honest with you because I know you respect honesty. I don't know how I feel about you. Sometimes …." she trailed off, looking at the floor.

He took her hand and pulled her towards him, enfolding her in his arms. She noticed that he smelled faintly of lye soap, incense, and the toilet water used on Sharon's cloths. These smells mixed together into a cocktail of calming scents and she closed her eyes, leaning against his chest. For once, without the influence of drink, she opened up. Like a flower surviving a long harsh winter, the petals fell open to the light of the sun, glad for its protective warmth.

"Sometimes I can't get you out of my mind," she whispered, her throat vibrating against his sternum. "I'll start hating myself for feeling for you, and eventually convince myself that I feel nothing for you, that the masquerade has taken me captive and fooled me. But then I'll awake in your arms and find that you've been there, in effect, protecting me all night. Will was right when he said your absence bothered me. I had nightmares when you left and I woke, so terrified and alone." She shivered and looked up at him. "I hated it because it made me feel weak. You, you made me feel weak, because I couldn't block you out."

"Weak?" he asked. "Surely not. You? Weak in the knees, perhaps."

She tried to pull away. "I'm pouring myself out to you and you make a joke. Let me go, Jack."

He didn't, but pulled her to the bed, both of them lying on their sides. Her back was to him but she turned her upper body so that he was in her sight.

"Don't get me wrong, luv," he told her. "I heard everything you said, and though I be a bloody scalawag, I'm not the heartless fiend you portray me as." He brushed her forehead with his lips. "What would you say if I told you the feeling was almost mutual?"

"Almost?" she stated looking up at him. "What do you mean?"

"In fact," he spoke sincerely. "I'd say we're so alike that the feelings _are _mutual." He kissed her lightly. "Neither of us is capable of love at this point. Like I said before, we try, but there's no more love left in either of us. What was left went to Sharon before we could give it to each other."

"Jack," she whispered. "I never realized how intelligent you really are."

He smiled down at her and moved back, pulling her with him so that she ended up on her back and he above her. His right hand went to the bun behind her head and pulled the chopsticks from it. She shook it out of its knot and leaned back.

"You will stay, will you not?" he whispered, his breath hot against her throat.

"I don't know," she told him. He sat up quickly and just stared at her with his dark eyes, his skin seeming gold in the light of the candles positioned around the room.

"No, I can't take that for an answer," he told her. He grabbed her wrists. "I cannot go into this battle were about to go on thinking you might leave for good."

"Jack," she sighed.

"No, don't speak," he put a finger to her lips. He told her about the letter and the raid and Elizabeth.

"Well, then I'll go," Scarlette said, attempting to sit up.

"Oh, no you don't," he told her, pushing her back down. "You're not going anywhere tonight, luv. And you're not going to Barbossa to get bloody Elizabeth back either. I'll not risk you for her. We're going in another way. Barton and Belle have got a plan for the cursed pirates and I have to ask, what kind of shot have you?"

"Silver of course," she answered. "It'll kill everything except maybe the cursed men, though I've never tried it."

"Well, there'll be plenty of time to try," he said. "Just not tonight." He pulled at a strap and the hip holsters came off. He put them on the floor, adding the knives and sword and the other holsters.

"Jack," she whispered against his mouth as he ran a finger over the studs on her belt. "Would you really care if I stayed in my time?"

She felt him smile against her lips as he found the buckle. "This _is_ your time, luv."

…

Meanwhile, back in the future, Nick was thinking. He knew Diana couldn't die and he was thinking about the others. He didn't want to endanger them even though he didn't know them very well. He had made a decision. He would only take a few of them back with him.

Diana of course, because she was impervious to damage, and David, because he belonged in that time, and Heather because she knew how to fence. He didn't really want to risk any of the others, regardless that Claudia and Robin were strong and Lizzy was immortal, though he didn't know that. Anita had completely escaped his mind.

As soon as he got the note telling him it was all right to come, he called these chosen people. Much to his dismay, Claudia, Robin, and Lizzy all showed up with his chosen three. Diana had called Claudia and David had been staying with Lizzy, who had in turn called Robin. Heather came alone, which was good, although she and Kristin had been staying in a local motel. Anita hadn't been contacted at all, though had she known, she would have been there in a heartbeat.

"Fine," Nick grunted. "Since you're all here, I'll tell you a few things."

"Shut up, kid," Robin said jokingly. "You're only fourteen. We know what to do. This is all silver shot, of course."

"Hey," Nick said. "I don't have to take you back, you know. In fact, in her letter, Ryoko said not to endanger everyone. I only meant to take a few of you. Besides, I am in fact _fifteen_ now."

"Like I said," Robin repeated. "Shut up. Let's go." She grabbed the beads and everyone touched a bit of them. Nick, resignedly, grabbed the last bit. There was a flash and they were suddenly standing in the Turner house, the sunlight glinting through the windows. Jack and Scarlette were staring at them, Scarlette blushing. Jack moved away from her and started laughing.

…

Well, to start a few minutes before their arrival, Scarlette awoke on _the Pearl_, comfortably warm. She sat up, attempting not to disturb the snoozing Jack. She stood and slipped on her clothing and all the hardware she'd brought, winding her hair up and sticking the chopsticks through, making sure they were straight by using the mirror. She was looking around the room for something to cover all the weapons when she was grabbed from behind.

She squeaked in surprised and turned to find Jack, grinning in pleasure at having scared her.

"Why'd you do that?" she asked in slight annoyance.

"Couldn't resist," he answered. "You should know better than to turn your back on a pirate, even if he's sleeping."

"How kind of you to remind me," she said. "Let's go." She opened the door and he followed, placing his hat on his head and shutting it behind him. The crew shouted "good morning" in intermittent cries as they spotted him. The two of them walked carefully down the gangplank and walked briskly to Will's house.

Will nodded to them with a slightly sad smile as they passed him and he went outside to his shop.

Scarlette and Jack stopped at the foot of the stairs in sight of the parlor. She looked up at the scarred walls and assessed the damaged that occurred in the pirate attack. There were broken bars from the banister and glass littered the floor. No one was walking barefooted in this house.

She thought of something. "Hmm. I wonder if I should take Sharon to my time when I go. That might be difficult to do I suppose, but it would work and—"

"I thought we made it clear," Jack said dangerously, pulling her against him possessively and looking down his pointed nose at her. "That you weren't going back, luv."

"Jack," she said seriously. "You and I both know that I can't stay here forever."

"Why not," he whispered. "It seems to me that you haven't much to return to."

"Jack, I'm still in high school," she told him. "I have to graduate and go to college and all that stuff."

He just looked at her. "Why do you have to do all that?"

"So I can get a good job and have nice things and …." she trailed off, looking at the ground.

"And if you stayed here," he said softly, his voice making her turn back to him. "If you stayed with me, you wouldn't have to do any of that nonsense."

She turned away again. She knew he was right in a way. All that 'nonsense' just didn't seem very important anymore.

"Jack, I—" she began to say but he turned her face to him and the look in his eyes frightened her. He looked utterly serious, the joking light gone from him.

"You must stay," he told her. "There is no reason for you to leave, Scarlette."

She blinked sadly. "There's no reason for me to stay either. Once Barbossa is dead, you'll no longer need me. Sharon can fulfill the prophecy."

"This isn't about the bloody prophecy, luv," he told her. "Did it ever occur to you that I might want you for something other than the bloody prophecy? I would think after our conversation last night that you would understand."

She looked away again. He forced her back.

"Why do you want to go back?" he asked her. Her eyes flashed and he felt he'd hit a nerve.

"What if I told you it was none of your business?" she asked him

"Listen," he growled. "I am not above figuring out some way to keep you here."

"You've already done that, Jack," she told him. "Remember? I still wonder if you knew that that would keep me here."

"How could I know that?" he asked. "Oh, now look. We're fighting again. We'll end up crossing blades in a moment."

She broke away from him and moved toward the parlor. "I'm tired of this conversation, Jack. I have no reason to stay with you. Like you said, you have no love for me."

"And you, the same," he added, following her. "Would that change your mind?"

She ignored him, stopping and looking out the large windows.

"Because," he said, pulling her to him again, their faces just inches apart. "If it would, I'd say anything you wanted me to." Their foreheads rested against each other and she closed her eyes sighing.

"There's more to it than words, Jack," she told him. "Saying it doesn't make it true, you of all people should know that."

"I love you," he said anyways. "If it were true, would you stay? Or how about I pull your trick and ask you if you think it's true, eh? I could keep you guessing if I wanted. Words hold so much, yet so little, depending on what is said to whom."

"When will you stop torturing me, Jack?" she asked. "You merely tease me with your words."

"Just payback," he whispered, nearly brushing her lips with his. There was a noise like a cork coming out of a bottle of rum and there were suddenly other voices in the room. They both turned to look at what had just landed in the parlor. Scarlette blushed furiously and pulled away. Jack laughed and shook his head. "Perfect timing, as always."

…

The plan was to send Scarlette out with Gibbs to _The Opal's Revenge_. She would board the ship and Elizabeth would come back with Gibbs. Jack knew of Barbossa's pride and knew that because of it, he would prolong whatever he had planned.

Mei Lin had been instructed to go with them and pretend to be returning. She would go onto _the Dragon _where she had definite clout and gain control of that ship, veering off from Barbossa's ship and then, when the time was right, attack _The Opal's Revenge_.

Jack was counting on Barbossa being a ceremonial type man in the fact that he would take Scarlette to Isla de Muerta for the death ritual he loved to perform.

Scarlette slipped into Jack's coat to hide the weapons that laced her body. His sleeves came down past her hands and the hem of the coat fell at her ankles and lower calves.

"I love how you look in my clothing, luv," he joked. "It always makes me feel bigger than I really am."

"Thanks Jack," she said sarcastically. "You always know just what to say. Don't let him get me, okay?"

Everyone in the room was getting ready to go to what would probably end up being a battle. Jack however wasn't concerned with the rest of the world. He bent towards her and whispered to her alone.

"Don't give in to him, luv," Jack whispered. "Don't tell him anything, don't let him get near you, don't eat anything he gives you. Eat with the crew if you have to, though not if he gives you outrageous terms."

Scarlette nodded, pulling the coat around her and shivering. Jack and Will stood together and Jack began speaking.

"Here are the orders and don't get fussy over them," he glanced at Will out of the corner of his eye. "None of you are to come on this venture unless I say otherwise. Will is coming and a few other men I've handpicked, including David. No, sorry Nick. You're staying here. I can't risk having you along."

"No way!" Nick exclaimed. "I'm going. There's no way you're keeping me out of this."

"Oh, isn't there?" Jack challenged. "And what do you suppose will change my mind, eh?"

"Listen to him, punk," Scarlette told her brother.

Nick looked defiantly up at her and stuck his tongue out.

"Oh, that's real mature, kiddo," she teased. "Stay here, and try not to get hurt."

"Whatever. You don't know what I did to help you and your stupid friends."

"It doesn't much matter now, does it," she retorted. "You're on this ship, you'll listen to its captain or something unfortunate will befall you." She looked to Jack. Nick glanced at the captain as well and sighed audibly.

Jack nodded, sensing defeat. "Well, then. Any questions?"

No one said anything and the girls sulked somewhat. They had wanted to fight. Jack knew they wanted to take part, but he just couldn't risk having them along. He would have enough trouble with Elizabeth and Scarlette.

"Well, let's go. Barbossa's not awake yet and that will buy us time," Jack looked outside at the weather. "There's a storm blowing in. We'll be hard pressed to get this done."

Scarlette and Jack walked out with Will and Mei Lin to _the Pearl _and Gibbs came out. Little did any of them know that Nick had stolen off to the docks with a sword strapped to his belt and an idea in his head.

Gibbs and Scarlette boarded the ship, standing on the dock of _The Opal's Revenge._ Barbossa was notified and Elizabeth dragged out. She was shoved towards Gibbs and both of them escorted off. The pirates were wary around Scarlette and none touched her, only watched as she looked down to where Gibbs was standing. She realized she hadn't said good-bye to Jack. She looked off to shore and saw him leaning against one of the stone lookouts. He was watching them and he gave a salute, knowing she could see it.

She turned back to the crew as the ship moved out of port. Mei Lin was already on the other ship. One of the cursed pirates approached her carefully and even though he couldn't die, he was slightly afraid of her, given he'd seen her ruthlessly kill a few of his shipmates.

She looked at him quickly and he backed up. "What do you want?"

"Barbossa wants you to come to his cabin," the man told her hesitantly.

"Well," she said. "He can just come and get me if he wants me in his cabin. I'm not moving."

The man sighed and looked over at another of the crew members. Ragetti and Pintel shook their heads, as did the rest of the mortal crew. They knew she was armed. A door opened and a familiar voice called out. "Bring Sparrow in. She'll not shoot yet."

She was looking up at the door that was only part way open so as not to let the sun in when she was roughly grabbed by the arms by Pintel and Ragetti. The smell of them was revolting and she noticed in dismay that even Pintel was a few inches taller than she was. She threw them off and stood there.

"Don't touch me. I'll walk." Pintel raised his hands and stood there, leering. He pushed his vest aside and showed a small dotting of scars on his upper arm. One of the guns she'd shot him with had been grape shot.

"Show me yours, wench."

She smirked. "No."

He glared at her. "It won't be your last, girly."

"It won't be you who scars me," she snapped. She turned and stamped in Ragetti's direction. He covered his head and whimpered. Pintel shoved her and dragged her by the back of Jack's coat.

She was brought up to the very door of the cabin and not until they reached the mainmast did she begin to struggle, twisting in his grip. Grapple came up and grabbed her arm. They heaved and dragged her up to the door to meet their captain.

They shoved her through the door and it shut with an audible click of doom behind her. She pressed herself against the wall, moving away from Barbossa before even getting a good look at the room.

"Have a seat, Sparrow," he told her. "I'll not be harmin' ye just yet."

She didn't answer and didn't move to the table where Barbossa had sat down. The bowl of apples sat in the middle of the wide table.

She gave him a dark look, her eyes still rimmed in the thick black eyeliner (non-smudge, thank you very much). He continued to smile at her slightly as she stood by the door. She moved and tried the knob, finding it unlocked.

"What's the catch?" she called out.

"Look here, Sparrow," he called to her. "You willn't be harmed and so you willn't be kept under locks. I've brought you here to converse at this point."

She turned back and he motioned. The door shut on its own, or by some little vampire trick, making her step back from it in slight surprise. She turned back and spoke, her voice retaining the accent of Jack. "You're not supposed to be able to do those tricks yet."

"Oh?" he said. "Sit." She complied and sat as far from him as she could get.

"You're only a year old, in vampire terms," she continued. "Most of them that I've read of can't do those little tricks until they're at least a hundred."

Barbossa looked at her thoughtfully. "Barton's blood was very powerful."

"And you were his first fledgling," she added. He nodded and frowned. She knew more about vampires than he did.

"Do you know why I brought you here?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, but seeing as you like the sound of your own voice, I'm sure you'll enlighten me." He blinked, leaning back in his chair, deciding to ignore her cheek.

"Once, before I died the first time, Jack gave me a proposition," he began. "He would sail as _the Pearl_'s captain and give me fifty percent of his plunder."

"No," she said. "He said ten."

"Ah," Barbossa said. "So he did tell you the story."

She shrugged. No, he hadn't but she'd seen the movie. There was no need to confuse poor old Barbie.

"Well, I'm here to offer you a deal first," he told her. "How would you like to command _The Opal's Revenge_? I'll settle for twenty five as Jack and I decided and I won't make you buy the damn hat."

She sat back, putting her hands behind her head and leaning back on the chair. "Barbossa; I am not a sea captain."

He nodded. "I know that, but I thought, since you and Jack were so alike that you'd take to it at once. I need an Englishman, or in your case, an English woman to be captain as I'll be on the flagship. We'll be switching crews. I figure you can handle them heathens."

"What's in it for me?" she asked.

"Ah, yes," he said. "I should have anticipated you asking me that, being just like him. Well, what would you say to getting' _the Pearl _once we take it?"

She sat up and fixed her eye on him. "Do you actually think I'm even considering this? I don't know why you even think for a moment that I would join with you. Even if I did, I could not attack _the_ _Pearl_. I should have taken your head that day in the cave."

Barbossa's expression had not changed. He merely took a breath and exhaled through his nose. "Then I'll kill you."

She shrugged. "I had a feeling you'd get around to that. Why would you kill me? What threat do I have that makes it necessary?"

"Maybe it amuses me," he told her. "Maybe it's avenging the several men you've killed or maybe it's because of something I saw."

Her eyes widened, thinking of Jack. Did he know? Had he come for her to get at Jack again?

"What do you mean?" she asked. He laughed at her frantic tone.

"Well, there was a rumor going about that '_the one who will lead to his heir will be my undoing_'. Would you be knowing anything about that?"

Scarlette tried to keep a blank face but the vampire in Barbossa caught her tension. "Ah," he said. "So, it does have some truth. Although, the exact words were, '_they will both be your end_.' Since this is impossible, I just have to tie up the loose end, which is you. I meant to make more use of you, Sparrow, but it seems you'd rather be killed."

"Well," she said, thinking of what Jack might do to stall for time. "Since you put it that way, I suppose I have no other choice. I'll captain the ship, and you'll get the quarter of share and your blasted hat. Deal?"

He smiled and stood. She stood as well, not trusting him. He held out his hand. "We have an accord, but you needn't remember the hat. Women have an odd sense of style."

She hesitated but gave him her hand and shook. "Am I free to roam now?"

He nodded. "I'll inform the men." Just that moment, someone knocked on the door. Barbossa opened it and Mei Lin entered. She had cleverly swung over from _the_ _Dragon _to speak with him.

"Oh, it's you," he grunted unhappily. "What do you want?"

She looked at Scarlette and turned to Barbossa. "I've come to tell you something but she can't be in the room."

"Oh, you speak English now eh?" he said. "Well, there's nothin' she doesn't know yet. Speak yer mind."

"_The Pearl _is going to come," she told him. Scarlette's anger rose but she crushed it. Mei Lin was being a little snitch. She hadn't turned after all.

"I expected that much," Barbossa said.

"Jack is going to try and kill you," Mei Lin added. Barbossa's eyes flicked to Scarlette.

"That'd be damned amazing for a dead man." Scarlette muttered, putting as much pain into her voice as was possible. She had a lot pent up and making it sting was easy. "He's not coming back." She looked down. "Jack is dead." She breathed in such a way that one might think she were holding back tears. "I'll not have this woman speak wonders that are not possible. Shut her up or lose her, Captain."

Barbossa looked from one to the other in wonder, trying to figure out whom to believe.

Mei Lin stamped her foot. She spoke in Japanese, in which Scarlette had improved as well.

"_You aren't going to win this one, Scarlette_," Mei Lin spoke. Scarlette replied in Japanese as well, speaking roughly with her anger.

"_Mei Lin, how could you do this_?"

"_I am going to kill Jack. That was always my goal_."

"_And I just found a new goal of my own,_" Scarlette replied with a smile. She turned to Barbossa and switched into English again. "This is your lucky day." He was looking back and forth, looking puzzled. His expression inspired mirth.

Scarlette laughed. "Barbossa," she said in English. "You've got a traitor there. She was going to turn _the Dragon_'s guns on you. I hadn't heard about this until now. She's trying to get me to go with the plan."

Barbossa looked to Mei Lin angrily. He pulled out his pistol but Mei Lin knocked it from his hand with her foot. There was a gunshot and the Chinese girl shuddered, looking down. Her chest began to bleed and she opened her mouth to speak. Blood poured from it to stain her lips. She fell to the floor. Barbossa called one of his men to take her and dump the body on the side that _the Dragon _was not sailing. He looked at Scarlette, who had just put her gun away. She had been the one who'd shot Mei Lin.

"You never cease to surprise me," he told her. "I thought I was rid of Jack Sparrow but it seems his comportment lives in you as well."

"It's my own," she told him. "I was like this before I met Jack. And as for _the_ _Pearl_, she may be uncatchable but that Chinese ship has over 70 cannons."

Barbossa nodded. "And this one had about 40. _The_ _Pearl _can reach 40 at the maximum, but without Jack, that ship's under salty command."

"And what makes you think I'll be any good at captaining this ship?" she asked.

He looked at her. "I've got a feelin'. Do you know anything about shipping?"

She shrugged. "I know about rigging and the names of things, but as for what to do, I haven't any notion."

He nodded. "You'll get used to it."

"I have just one question," she said. He looked at her and that glance was her go ahead. "Will I ever have the chance to visit Port Royal?"

"Why would you want to visit this place?" he asked.

"Well, you see," she said a bit modestly. "I've a daughter."

"Ah," he nodded. "I do remember on my last visit how you were with child. I also remember you shooting me."

"Well," she shrugged. "You killed Jack. You deserved it, I'd say."

"And you seem not to be so hostile towards me for that anymore," Barbossa was almost piecing the puzzle together.

"The thing is," she said nonchalantly. "Jack was ... not the best one could hope for. In a way you did me a favor. The condition you last saw me in was not my idea at all."

"Ah," Barbossa said again. "But you married him, did you not?"

She shrugged. "That wasn't my idea either. You might say I was tricked. All he really wanted was to fulfill that stupid prophecy, the one that set you off after me. The reason I shot you was because I preferred the evil I knew over the one I didn't." Of course, she was lying to keep him from the Jack living theory. Turning Jack into the ruthless rapist for her purposes of stalling and coercing Barbossa was not beyond her moral standing. It was definitely something Jack would have done in her situation. By all means, kill the whelp.

Barbossa was buying it and she was glad he hadn't learned from dealing with Jack, how treacherous she could be, and how she could lie effortlessly if it suited her. Barbossa believed them to be similar, even the same, but her petite female body still gave her an advantage that Jack didn't possess. She looked harmless. He, with his dark eyes and sinister expression at times like this, looked dangerous, especially to one who knew him.

"We'll wait 'til nightfall," Barbossa spoke, picking up an apple and caressing it with a fervor left for things best not eaten. "Then the introductions will begin."

…

Barbossa made the announcement that night. He introduced her to the crew as _Captain _Scarlette Sparrow. There were whispers of amazement and the crew looked their new captain up and down, some whistling, others wondering what she had done to get the job.

"Is 'at a good idea?" Ragetti whispered to Pintel. "Jack's widow?"

Barbossa heard him. "Hush yer trap, Ragetti or I'll take yer eye and fill the hole with sand. I'll have no second guesses from the likes o' this crew. You'll mostly be with me anyhow on _the Dragon_. Once we change her colors and find us more of a decent crew, we'll be on the other ship."

Scarlette had remained silent through this announcement. When Barbossa dismissed the men, she wandered around the deck, the men skirting her, slightly intimidated. She looked astern.

She was trying to find the lights of _the Pearl_. She realized that Jack was smarter than that. He wouldn't risk using the lights in case Barbossa gave order for a half about, or club hauling. She could see fog a while away. She couldn't really judge distance on the open sea but it was far enough that one wouldn't swim to it, meaning it was even farther away than that.

Someone cleared their throat and she turned to find the two stooges, oh, sorry. Pintel and Ragetti stood there, their arms at their sides, attempting neutral expressions.

"What?" she asked.

Pintel spoke, the more intelligent of the two. "Now dat you're one of us, we was wonderin' ... er ..."

"Yeah, we was wonderin'," Ragetti repeated. He looked at Pintel. "Dis idn't a code violation is it?" he asked his partner.

"No," Pintel answered. "We was wonderin' if you was de kinda wench who would ... ya know ... be shared?"

She raised one eyebrow. "What are you talking about?'

Pintel shrugged. "Well, we figured Barbossa already spoke for ye but we was wonderin' if he be willin' ta share."

To their surprise, she laughed out loud. Suddenly her laughter stopped and she looked utterly serious.

"Do you know how your mate Jacoby died?" she asked. They shook their heads and glanced at each other.

"Well," she said, closing her eyes for a moment and looking at them with her glass green eyes. "His neck was broken as he tried to ... share me with Jack, so to speak."

"How wild can a wench be to break a man's neck during … oh!" Ragetti suddenly understood her threat and shut his mouth.

They glanced at each other again and nodded, backing away. As they left, she heard one mutter. "At least she didn't shoot us."

…

Nick and the girls were all crammed into the bilge. They had snuck onto _the_ _Pearl _after Jack had given the order for them to stay.

"Are we there yet?" Claudia asked. She was crammed between Diana and Robin.

"We have to wait until we hear them in the galley," Nick told her. "That will mean it is dinner time. We'll be too far for them to turn around by then."

"I wonder how Scarlette's doing." Heather commented.

"She should be fine," Robin answered. "Did you see all the stuff she was wearing? That was like, commando girl or something."

They giggled and joked amongst themselves as the light grew darker, the sun going down, not that they could see it from their place on the ship.

Jack was looking through his spyglass. "Why hasn't _the Dragon _veered off yet? Mei Lin was supposed to have done that an hour ago."

"What did you tell her?" Gibbs asked.

"Sunset. That way Barbossa would just be coming out."

"If you like," Barton said. "I could tap into her."

They looked at him in confusion. He shrugged and closed his eyes. He opened them and gasped, turning around. "She's not on either of those ships. Mei Lin's a goner. She's about twenty kilometers back there."

The two men said nothing and Barton tried again. "Scarlette's fine. She's there. I can't get anything from her thoughts though. Right now she's thinking about food."

"Then she's following orders," Jack answered. "She's not supposed to eat anything on that ship or she might be poisoned."

"Not according to what I'm getting," Barton continued. "A lot of the men's minds are open. Apparently they're calling her Captain Sparrow."

"What?" Jack sounded genuinely surprised, snapping his spyglass shut with a click. "That's my role! Barbossa must have struck a bargain with her. I told her not to make any deals, blast."

"Do you think she's fallin' in with him?" Bootstrap asked incredulously. "She's stallin' fer time. She knows we're following them."

"Of course she is," Jack answered. "She's doing what I would do, of course she's got an easier time of it, with her looks."

The men continued to follow, knowing that they'd have both ships to deal with now. The best strategy was to wait for night and come up beside _The Opal's Revenge _and board her.

…

Ahh! Scary! ... or not. Page count is ... 390! With the glossary ... 407! Yikes! I think it's safe to say this is a book.

**Revisited 1-18-07 4:25 am … page count is … 547 … Yeesh. This does not include the glossary, mates.**


	20. Chapter XIX : Left Wanting

So ye not be fearin' the cursed treasure says you. Properly warned ye be says I.

~X. Atencio, Pirates of the Caribbean, Disneyland

**Chapter XIX –Left Wanting **

The noise on the galley made the future kids below excited. Nick was the first one up, followed by everyone else, including the monkey, who had hung around on Diana's shoulder throughout the ride. Ride meaning the trip over the water, not the Disneyland ride.

As soon as Jack saw them, he did a double take and sighed. He sashayed over and pointed drunkenly. "You were supposed to stay in Port Royal."

They shrugged, knowing he would be angry with them. He shook his head and looked at them. "Very well. I am not responsible for any damage done to you aboard my ship."

"Hey, Ryoko's our friend," Claudia announced. "We're not gonna just sit back in Port Royal waiting for _you _to save her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. "Are you implying that I can't do this all by me onesies?" Nick scoffed, maybe revealing that those had been his exact thoughts.

"No," Lizzy stated. "We want to help. Ryoko is my best friend forever and I'm not gonna stay behind." One at a time, the others chorused. Nick just rolled his eyes.

"And what about you, son?" Jack asked, the girls parting before him until he had unobstructed eye contact with Nick. "Why are you here? You and your sister seem to be at odds, am I right?"

"I'm just here to kill pirates," Nick said frankly, his hand hovering over the hilt of the sword at his belt, one he'd forged himself.

Jack shrugged. "Well, at least you're honest. Taking after your mentor I see. Do you practice three hours a day?"

Nick snorted. "Nope. I _have _a life."

…

Scarlette couldn't sleep, especially knowing there were tons of horny guys around her. Pirates, yeek. Barbossa was sleeping in the cabin and so she was sent to find a spot somewhere on the ship. This was the part of the ship's life she'd never seen with Jack. There were men staring at her, not even attempting to hide their hungry gaze. Her clothes, thankfully, were all intact and she could wrap Jack's coat around her to cover her upper body. The t-shirt _was_ tight fitting, but it didn't give way to that much imagination.

She tried her best to ignore the smelly men as she leaned against a beam. There were no hammocks left and so she was reduced to sleeping on the floor with a lot of the crew. She opted for sitting up instead of lying on the filthy deck but her backside was growing numb. She'd found a sack of grain down in the galley and had opted for using it as a backrest. The crew that had seen her hauling it up topside had given no comments but the looks in their eyes asked questions all on their own. She had not felt obliged to answer.

'_How in the world am I going to get out of this_?' she asked herself. '_The plan has failed because of Mei Lin. At least he isn't going to kill me _... _yet. When he finds out about _thePearl _and Jack, I'll be a goner_.'

She shifted against the wall, her eyes still shut against the lamplight. She was trying to think of a plan that would both kill Barbossa and his men, but also give Jack a warning. She had a slight plan, but it would be very difficult and she would probably be killed. Plus, it wouldn't be workable until she became the commander of _The Opal's Revenge_.

Another problem was this. If she did indeed enact her plan, how would Jack know who to attack? He would see _the Opal _open fire on _the Dragon _and come forward to attack. The only problem with that would be where his cannons were directed. He would probably aim at _the Opal_, since that was the plan from the beginning. She would be attacked from both sides. She had no choice but to sit still and wait it out, thinking of another plan. She wasn't even sure the crew she was commanding would fire on their 'sister' ship.

A man was staring at her from his place on the floor, his brown eyes rolled up, showing much of the whites. They glistened sickly and Scarlette tried not to look at him. He reached out and wrapped his filthy fingers around her boot.

"I won't mind havin' ya fer a cap'n," he told her. "But what happens when mutiny strikes? Ye'll not stand a chance to some o' them blokes."

"What are you saying?" she asked him, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"I be sayin'" he told her, moving to a sitting position and sidling in closer. "Let ol' Nipperkin, that's be me, protect ye. I'd do a swell job of it, and on top," he put a hand on her knee. "I'll fight your duels fer ye."

"I suppose I must ask what's in it for you?" she snapped. He grinned, his teeth not as dirty as the rest of the crew. "I know enough about mutiny that to even speak of it to me is a dangerous breech of pirate protocol. You must have something to gain from approaching me with it."

"Well now," he growled, squeezing her knee suggestively. "I think you can come up with some … appropriate payment."

She smiled at him and he missed the faint gleam that had once been in his former captain's eye. He didn't realized, that under the petite mask Scarlette wore, lived a person just as dangerous and ruthless as his old captain, Jack Sparrow.

She leaned forward, nearer to his face and he, in anticipation, did not see the faint glimmer of the knife. He hardly knew what was happening, even as the steel blade entered his throat. He gurgled a bit and she let him fall slowly to the floor, covering him with his own coat.

"Good night, Nipperkin," she muttered. "I think I'll make my own protection, not to mention, fight my own duels. Horny bastard. Appropriate is not the word I would have chosen."

The night continued unbiased, not caring who lived and died under its velvety canvas of stars.

…

"We'll need to attack soon, sir," Gibbs told him. "This chase is ... futile at best."

Jack knew what he needed to do. He knew he was risking everything for her. He was running out of cards and the pot was growing too large to pass up.

Gibbs was watching his captain, wondering if he had finally found something he deemed more important than _the Pearl _and his own life, not necessarily in that order.

Although, Jack was thinking something very different. Gibbs' mind ran on a single track at a moderate speed. He knew that rescue was near impossible and wouldn't risk it if the odds were stacked too high. Jack's mind, however, whether fortunately or not, ran on several different paths that surrounded a main idea at a most grueling speed. He knew what he wanted and knew exactly what he'd have to do to get it. The only problem was the solution to the problem, which to one sounds to make not much sense, but Jack Sparrow, excuse me, _Captain _Jack Sparrow, had a special type of unique insanity, which still managed to be sane.

He looked up at the sky and his upper lip twitched. Two hours until dawn. He gave the helm a turn, the spires making a pleasant clicking sound. The rudder caught and the ship veered slightly to the right, closer to _The Opal's Revenge_.

"Cap'n?" Gibbs said suspiciously. "What are ye doin'?"

Jack ignored him, breathing in a slightly annoyed way through his nose, tilting back his head and squinting. His hand continued to tip the helm until _the Pearl _was a quarter to. He corrected the rudder and straightened her out.

"Jack," Gibbs said, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack turned, not saying a word, but all he needed to convey was written plainly on his swarthy face.

Gibbs stepped back but continued to speak. "I don't presume to tell you yer job, Cap'n, but this situation's not the best of odds, nor evens for that matter. Tis a fool's errand."

Jack's eyebrows twitched and he went back to the helm. Anamaria grabbed Gibbs and pulled him over.

"Will you stop trying to talk him out of it," she snapped in a stage whisper. "You must be blind."

"What do ya mean, Missy?" Gibbs asked. "He's sailin' to his and our deaths!"

"And for what?" she spat. "Scarlette is on one of those ships."

Gibbs looked blank. She sighed and smacked him on the side of the head, his longish dark hair moving slightly. "Open yer eyes you fool! Why would he be doin' it? He loves her, you cheese headed dolt! Can you not see it?"

Gibbs knotted his brow and stroked his muttonchops. "You're mistaken. We are speakin' 'bout the same man, are we not? Jack hardly loves anything, save his mother and this ship, and maybe the babe."

Anamaria looked like she was really going to hit him. "You must have cow dung for brains!"

They continued to argue, oblivious to everyone around them. Jack could hear them perfectly but chose to ignore them. One thing, though, that caught his attention, was the mention of Sharon.

If he turned around right now and left Scarlette, Sharon would have to be cared for by someone. Jack was inept in that category (not that Scarlette was much better, but at least she was a woman) and he'd be damned before he let Sharon stay with Elizabeth, knowing what she'd turn out to be.

In the end, he knew exactly what he needed to do. It was about an hour before dawn, the stars gone from the sky and the moon stuck up in the velvet like a lone sentry about to witness something horrid.

He gave the helm another twist and called up one of his crew, Dobereiner to be exact.

"Run out the sweeps, man," Jack told him quietly. "Do it quietly." Dobereiner gave him a strange look but continued to follow orders. He got down to the galley and gave the order, though doing so was hardly quietly.

Jack steered to the right of _the Revenge _and the dawn raced towards them.

…

Scarlette had been asleep for quite some time, her chin resting on her chest, Jack's coat pulled up past her ears, only the top of her head from her eyes visible. She had roamed the deck for awhile after killing the leech and found an unoccupied dinghy. She'd climbed inside the hanging boat and gotten comfortable, knowing she would be safer in there than on the deck.

She stirred as a pirate nudged her. When she snapped awake and pulled out a knife, the pirate backed away swiftly to achieve a safer distance. "The Cap'n wants ya in his quarters."

"What does that monster bloody want this time?" she groaned as she pushed herself to her feet. She walked stiffly to the stairs, mounted them and arrived on the top deck, the air chilling her. She looked back and couldn't see any lights or fog, besides the thick mire that seemed to be around them now. _The Pearl _seemed to have gone. All she could see were _the Revenge _and _Dragon_'s reflections. She sighed and slid back down the stairs and to the Captain's quarters.

She rapped in an annoyed pattern on the door and Barbossa opened it, closing it immediately. The room was still dark, the only light filtering through the dirty glass windows to pattern the floor like extra large cheesecloth.

"You rang?" she said. He didn't laugh, though, she supposed he wouldn't. The Adam's Family hadn't come out yet.

"Aye, Sparrow," he told her. "Have ye heard of a man called Dante Smith?"

"He's one of those bounty hunters."

"Aye," Barbossa agreed. "He's also peculiarly gifted in the sense that he can read minds."

She remained unfazed. Dante hadn't been anywhere near her and she'd been carefully guarded because she knew vampires to have similar powers. "What is your point? Even if I had something to worry about, this man hasn't been anywhere in my vicinity."

Barbossa smiled but it lacked a certain warmth. "No, you see, Dante's power only comes when one is asleep. You slept for about two and a half hours."

She understood. Barbossa had basically just told her that she was a goner. She decided to speak anyway. "I know you've a point to make."

He moved from the table he'd been leaning against and walked nonchalantly to the window. "Lovely night, is it not? If I were to choose, I'd want to die on a night like this. Many a man will get the chance. Of course, you've seen to Nipperkin's death already. Oh, don't try to look so innocent. I know it was you who killed him. Tough, knowing him, I suppose he deserved it. What was it this time? Theft, brigandage, something or other? How any kills do you have, Captain Sparrow? 10, 11?"

"Nine," she told him softly. "He was my ninth, and he died for being an impudent cad and a pervert."

He smiled for some reason. "Hmm. You know, I was almost liking you. Where was I?" He asked the question, but not like he didn't already know the answer. "Ah, yes. As I was saying, there will be many a man who'll get the chance to die tonight."

She didn't speak but allowed him to continue as he turned to look at her. "And I know at least one woman who may accompany them. Did ye know, _the Pearl _is pacing us?"

True surprise showed on her face. She had been on the left side of the ship and hadn't bothered to look to her right. She felt right stupid for not having noticed something as obvious as _the Pearl_. She moved up beside him and glanced out the filthy windows, wiping a small smidgeon of space clear for better viewing.

The great black sails billowed in the wind as _the Pearl _glided silently beside them like a dark escort down to hell. She managed to keep to happiness from her face and blatantly said. "Well, then. I suppose they're here to rescue me, eh?" That explained why the fog was so thick now.

"You know exactly why they're here," Barbossa growled. "That crew is attempting to fill their old captain's place, or maybe they're not. Dante had a very interesting suspicion. Would you like to hear it?"

Scarlette at that moment knew that Barbossa thought Jack to be alive. She crossed her arms and nodded to him to go on, hoping against hope that he hadn't caught on. She hoped for once her vampire knowledge was wrong and that Barbossa couldn't taste her fear.

"Your head is full of Jack," he said. "There were pictures he saw that didn't make any sense. One such picture leads me to believe that I was not as thorough as I thought. Jack with a tiny child on his knee. If Jack died, this would not be possible."

Scarlette looked at the ground. "I never expected my thoughts to be read like a book. I hate to think all my ... fantasies so to speak have been revealed. I'll tell you what he saw, Captain. The relationship between Jack and I was nothing at all, really, and what's more, a dream is a dream. Seeing Jack with his child is but one of my wishes. There is no reality to it. That child was the reason for Jack and I to be together and I hated the fact that I was put through all the misery of dealing with that presumptuous scalawag to have his child all to myself."

Barbossa chuckled lightly. "I'll give ye this much, I cannot tell if ye be lying'. Apparently, that trick doesn't work on you, but there is a way, if I'm up for it. If not, I apologize in advance." He disappeared. Not like, went into another room disappeared. He just suddenly wasn't there, or wasn't where he'd begun, anyways. Vampires were fast.

Scarlette pulled out a knife before she felt his teeth and managed to inflict a trivial wound on his collar, where the bone protrudes slightly from the skin. All her blade had done was scraped him enough for him to bleed. The line stopped bleeding, re-knit, and disappeared without a trace save for a single drop of blood. He laughed again and lunged, his rough fingers going around her neck.

She felt the skin break and his fangs bite deeply and without the silly mind tricks, she felt every bit of pain. Even when he tore image over image from her memory, she felt the puncture like a hot brand on her jugular.

Finally, he withdrew and backhanded her across the room. She slid to a stop near the door. He began to stride towards her but she pulled out one of the guns, training it on him.

"Don't come any closer, you bastard," she told him coldly. He continued coming and she fired.

The shot buried itself in his arm, rocking him back and making him howl. He touched his sleeve and his hand came away damp.

She looked absolutely smug when he looked back at her in an accusative stare. "Silver shot, buddy. You can't heal that in a hurry, you know. This time, I'm not bluffing."

"No," he said nodding. "But you aren't winning yet." He waved his hand and a solid wall of power slammed into her, knocking the gun from her unsteady hand and pushing her back against the cabin wall. He walked up to her and grasped her face in his vice like claw.

"So, there be two Captain Sparrow's I be dealin' with, eh? I should have known you'd be just as dishonest, astute, and shifty as your bloody husband. You don't hate him at all, lass. From what I saw, you two are pretty cozy, no matter that you aren't even wed. Oh, yes, I know all about that little secret. The ongoing masquerade that went too far? Am I embarrassing you, dear? Ah, it is a shame, that your worst enemy knows all your secrets. I suppose it would be smart of me to kill you now and get it over with, but that will come later." He squeezed her face and as he got a good grip on her neck, he tossed her against the door. She slid slowly until she touched the floor.

She groaned and wrenched open the door, pulling herself to her feet using the knob. Barbossa continued to come at her, moving all the while. She pulled the other gun and shot but didn't hit him, having drawn with her left hand. He hit her with his aura again and the gun went flying.

She had four knives, one gun, the sword, and her chopsticks, though if it got bad enough to have to use those, she knew it was over. She backed up, blood still dripping from her neck to stain part of the letters on her shirt a deep red. Barbossa came out after her, striding purposefully. He reached for her, his fingers curved claw-like. She ducked under the arm and raced up the stairs to the top deck. He followed, incentive to skip stairs on Scarlette's part.

Instead of running completely to stern, she skidded along the railing and fled back down the other stairs, keeping the vampire in sight. She almost fell backwards down the stairs but caught the banister in time. She did trip on the last stair, lying tangled on the deck and realized that there were men moving all around her, a lot of them men she knew. _The Pearl_'s crew had boarded _The Opal's Revenge_.

Barbossa looked around in a fury and glared at her. He vaulted over the railing above the cabin door and landed silently beside her. His coat made a slapping sound against his legs but that was all. He snarled at her where she was sprawled and stepped onto her coat. She went for the big knife and he kicked her arm cruelly. There was a loud crack from her arm as the bone snapped. She cried out through gritted teeth and it collapsed. He sneered evilly and pulled out his pistol, firing accurately at point blank range.

He reloaded the pistol in front of her as he watched the effect take on.

The bullet had hit her in the chest, right above her left breast. Her mouth was open and she was staring at him, her eyes wide with disbelief.

A bullet tore into Barbossa's shoulder, the left to be precise and he shouted, the bullet exiting out his shoulder blade with a cracking sound. He turned to find a very familiar face grinning at him.

"Hello, Barbossa," Jack greeted. "So nice to see you going back on your word."

Barbossa groaned, the silver of Jack's gun, one given him by Barton in the event of his return to Port Royal, making a burning hole through his flesh. Though Barbossa knew about Jack's living status, he had yet to see him face to face and the sudden appearance of the notorious Sparrow made his undead heart sputter. "It's not possible."

"Anything's possible," Jack muttered. He raised the gun again. Scarlette got her last gun out and pointed it shakily at Barbossa, left handed and on her knees. That tiny movement caught Jack's attention. He looked down for a split second and Barbossa hit him. Jack, staggered by the blow, lost his aim and felt his face where Barbossa's ring had torn an opening across his cheek. By the time he looked back, Barbossa had his gun pointed at Scarlette. He fired again, a second bullet catching her, going into her stomach this time.

Jack seemed to be winded himself as Scarlette fell back on the deck, her eyes shut tightly. Barbossa fled, locking himself in his cabin. Dawn broke finally and the most dangerous thing on board was under wraps.

Jack fell to her side, moving her carefully. He pulled out the thing he'd asked Barton for, especially for this event. He held it in front of her face.

"Jack!" she cried, attempting to sit up, her blood warm over his hand.

"It's all right," he said solemnly. He himself didn't believe that. She'd taken two shots, in the chest and stomach. Her right arm was broken. She would die, there was no undoing it. She looked into his face and saw this knowledge written plainly there.

"Jack, it's fine," she told him. "I'm okay. I can still fight."

He looked at her and shook his head. He thought she didn't understand him. "No, here. Take this. Hold it and think—"

"Jack! You're not sending me back! I'm not leaving you! I won't go!"

The gunfire reached a critical point here and nothing could be heard. She saw his lips move, forming words, but there was no audio with their movements. She _thought_ she knew what he'd said but it was so preposterous that she had to be mistaken.

"What?" she shouted. "I can't hear you! Jack, I'm not leaving! What did you say?"

He shook his head with a slight smile. He tightened his hand around hers, where a golden key stained with the blood of Barton was clenched and leaned towards her, repeating himself. By the time he finished speaking, she was gone, sent back to the 21st century.

…

When he'd boarded, he'd seen her coming down the stairs, her eyes wild. He had almost fallen himself when the first shot ripped through the early morning and impacted in her chest. The second blow cut him so badly he thought his heart might cease to beat, though the wounds were inflicted upon her. Now, she was gone. Barton had informed him that the time travel did fix wounds. That was an explanation as to why her enzyme deficiency had disappeared, though it wasn't really a wound. It still didn't explain how Mulligan seemed to know about it.

Anyhow, his men were being cut down little by little. He caught sight of Barton and Belle, running through the cursed crowd and tearing off any jewelry on them. Barton tore the golden hoop from one man's rotted flesh, cut himself on it, and pressed it against the rotting corpse's flesh. In a flash, the cursed man disappeared. They were sending them into a different time.

"Silver sends them back!" Barton shouted. "Gold sends them ahead. They'll end up wherever the piece is." He was steadily dwindling the cursed pirates, increasing _the Pearl_'s crew's survival rate. Jack noticed that his two vampire escorts were out in the sunlight, their skin bronzing before his eyes. Interesting.

Jack picked up the two guns left outside by Scarlette, the one from her shoulder holster and the second one Barbossa had knocked from her hand. He stowed one of them on his belt, pulling out his cutlass and the gun used to shoot Barbossa and began to cut them down himself.

He was counting the shots to keep track, and simultaneously, counting his kill ratio. "3rd shot, fifth kill." SLICE. BANG! "4th shot, seventh kill."

Barbossa was watching from his cabin and he picked up the first gun Scarlette had dropped. He knocked out one of the filthy panes and fired, hitting a man in the back and killing him. He fired at Barton but the older vampire moved swiftly out of his line of sight.

The melee on the decks was as confusing as watching a mound of ants attack a bug carcass. There were entirely too many moving parts and on top of that, the noise from the guns and cannons, not to mention the shouting and slamming of bodies as they were cut down.

_The Pearl_'s crew was actually doing quite well but the slap of _the Dragon_'s gangplank, highly audible even through the skirmish, signaled a turn in favor. _Abandoning their sampans, the Chinks they swarmed aboard. _(CATS; Growltiger's Last Stand) _The Dragon_'s crew looked around with wide eyes and thronged onto the deck, adding to the numbers of enemies.

Jack sighed but jumped into the fray.

…

Scarlette landed on the wet ground. It was raining here and the headlights of the cars moving along the highway blinded her. She stood up from the ground and slapped her head.

"Dammit Jack! I wasn't dying!" She lifted up the hem of her shirt and exposed the rough fabric of the Kevlar vest she was wearing underneath. Two old ball shot bullets were embedded in the vest. She looked around and didn't know where she was. There was a faint scent of water and she could tell through her year of experience that there was some body of water nearby and the air, although not as clean as Port Royal's, was definitely clearer than her home in LA.

She walked towards a mini mart, its fluorescent lights illuminating the asphalt, glinting off car windows wet with the rain. There weren't very many cars out and looking in a dark store window, Scarlette saw why. It was only 4:57am. But even at that time, at least in CA, the cars were zooming past, their drivers on their way to work.

She located a phone next to a Chinese food place, still dark with the hour and searched the pockets of the coat. Looking at the phone book swinging from the booth she found out where she was. Oregon.

"Bloody hell!" she exclaimed. "Some people are punished by being sent below but I have to spend my time here in Oregon."

She looked in the book until she found a name she recognized. Thornburg. The number was listed but she hesitated. It was early.

"And so he's still sick? Maybe he's pregnant."

"Anything's possible with Shane," the two voices were getting louder and Scarlette whirled around to come face to face with two boys around her age, obviously drunk. One had longish brown hair, giving him a slightly shaggy look, his blue sweater slightly damp whether with drink or with rain, she couldn't guess. The other wore clothes that hardly matched at all and his hair was a faded orange, nothing ones mother ever gave them.

"Who are you?" the one with brown hair asked. "Nice shirt by the way."

She looked down absently at the "Got Rum?" sign on her shirt and shrugged. "Scarlette – I mean Ryoko Maxwell. Do you know where—"

"You!" the brown haired one exclaimed. "You're the tuba girl that was supposed to be in marching band! Garcia was wondering where you were but we found out you'd gone missing over a year ago!"

She frowned and glanced from one to the other. "Do you know where I can find my family?"

They glanced at each other and the other boy spoke. "I don't know if you heard, but they think you ran away. You've been disowned basically."

She knotted her brow. "You sound like you're joking."

"He always sounds like that," the brown haired one told her. "Even when he's not joking. He's being completely serious. They announced it over the news about a year ago. It's said you're living in California with some guy."

Scarlette frowned again, hardly angered over this news. It was not until she thought about it that she realized why. She, though she'd argued with Jack, had not considered coming back. At least not to the life she'd left.

"Well then," she said. "I suppose I ought to be leaving then. There's no place for me here. Ta, gentlemen."

"Um ..." the orange haired one said. "You do realize you're talking like a pirate, don't you?"

She looked back and shrugged. "If you must know, I am a pirate." The boys just stared at her. She shrugged and turned on her heel, weapons clanking. She didn't need this nonsense.

The two boys looked at each other and nodded simultaneously. This girl looked exciting. Their lives needed excitement. It was too tempting an offer to pass up. Befriend the unique.

"Um ..." the brown haired one began. "Do you need someplace to stay?" She looked back and shrugged.

"I have to get back to my …." she had been about to say "husband" but realized she was completely aloof in this world now. Plus, the key had been nearly cleansed of blood. When she realized this, she put it in her pocket. She would wait for it to dry before returning.

"I guess," she said. "But I know nothing of who you are, where I am, what I'm supposed to be doing, you understand? What makes me able to trust you?"

"Other than the fact that you're armed to the teeth," the curly haired one spoke.

She smiled, white teeth against the darkness. "You should have seen me before they took my guns away."

"Is it just me or does she remind you of a certain actor?" the brown haired one asked his friend.

Scarlette sighed. The boys seemed to sense that she was growing impatient. The brown haired one held out his hand. "I'm Tony and this is Stupid."

"Why you little!" Stupid shook his fist at Tony.

"Just kidding, his name is Sean. You can stay with us. We moved out together just a month ago when school ended."

Scarlette looked a bit suspicious. "And what incentive do I have to trust you?"

Sean laughed. "That Johnny Depp thing going on with your voice is kinda intimidating. You're good. Hey Tony; Do you think Mrs. Skudstad, the theater teacher would like her?"

Tony shrugged. "For the new play you mean? She's not PG enough for that. Skudstad would be too scared."

Sean shrugged as well and Scarlette sighed again. Tony turned back and spoke. "You can trust us. We're just nerds, not jocks. Even if we wanted to take advantage of you, we'd be scared shitless."

"Uh, Tony," Sean stage whispered jokingly. "That's not flattering."

Scarlette actually laughed. They looked at her suddenly, her voice waking them from their stupor.

"How old are you two?" she asked. They glanced at each other and Sean spoke.

"We're both seventeen," he answered. "You?"

"Eighteen," she answered. She flinched saying it. She was thinking of Sharon. Not even twenty and she'd already given birth. She remembered back to health class her freshman year and how she'd sworn she'd never be so stupid as to be one of those teen mothers. Yeesh, so much for vows.

She looked at the two boys and agreed. "Fine. I suppose I have no choice. Lead the way."

They glanced at each other again and nodded. Tony began walking and she followed, Sean tripping over the curb.

"We're not going to drive right now so we'll have to walk," Tony told her. "It's not that far."

"What're you talking about?" Sean asked incredulously. "We were going to walk anyway. We don't have a car!"

Tony laughed. "Shut up, Ciao. It's your fault we don't have a car. If you hadn't gone off and drove with all our stash in the backseat, we'd have a car! Instead of just giving you a ticket, they commandeered the whole damn car!"

"I'll drink to that," Sean commented, and he probably had. Scarlette laughed softly, wondering how it was her luck to run into these two guys.

"Wait, you're only seventeen," she pointed out. "And you've been drinking?"

"My uncle owns the store there and I've got a key," Sean commented. "We're not that drunk. He told me I could go ahead and drink once in a while, twice or thrice a week."

"Every night," Tony added. "He's been stashing it."

"_We've _been stashing it," Sean corrected, swaying a bit.

Scarlette snorted. "The world I left is hardly different."

"Where?"

"Jamaica."

"You've been in Jamaica?" Tony exclaimed. "Why there?"

She considered them. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." They were walking across the bridge now and Scarlette saw the river, the sky becoming brighter over the winding water. She noticed that once they crossed the river the rain stopped. She even mentioned it.

"Oh, it's like that here," Sean answered. "It'll be raining on one side, but across the river, it'll be dry. Damn Yankees. There's a storm in my pants!"

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked him. Scarlette could have asked the same question but Tony followed up with an equally random comment. "It's all those badgers' faults."

Scarlette looked confused but shrugged it off. These two guys were obviously insane.

It took them about twenty minutes, walking slowly to reach the apartment. By the time they arrived, the sun had lit the sky beyond the mountains, but hadn't spilled into the valley yet.

They walked up the stone stairs, holding onto the wrought iron banister to prevent from falling, well, the boys did anyway. Scarlette was balanced in her 18th century boots.

They arrived at the door and the boys looked at each other.

"Do you have the keys?" Sean asked.

"You were supposed to have them, weren't you?" Tony answered.

"No, I gave them to you!" Sean contradicted.

"Did not,"

"Did too,"

"Did not!"

"Why you little!"

Scarlette sighed and pulled out one of her knives and jammed the thin blade into the doorjamb, running it along the knob area. The door clicked and popped open. They looked at her in wonder.

"Well, that's what we get," Tony commented. "She did come from LA."

"I thought she was from Jamaica?"

"LA was where I was supposed to move from but I never ended up coming here." She pushed open the door and waited for them to enter.

"What, are you too good for Oregon?" Sean asked as he crossed the threshold.

"Perhaps," she muttered. She looked around the apartment and shrugged. Obviously, there were boys living here. There were garments strewn about the room, hanging from the chairs set up around it. There was a fridge standing in the kitchen with odd sayings on post-its. She looked at them closely, noting one that said "That's French for _au revoir_." and "Ve the pain, father of the public." There was also a coterie of magnetic words scrambled all over the surface. Some hade been arranged into nonsensical sentences. "Juice is bat drool with meaningful puppy lips."

Shaking her head, she shed Jack's coat and hung it on the back of one of the old chairs that sat near the dirty table. She sat down and glanced around. Her hosts sat at the table as well, unceremoniously grabbing a few drinks. She asked for water.

"Not a drinker?" Tony asked. "I would think living in LA would have been more exciting."

"Babe," she began. "I could drink both you and your colorful friend under this very table if I so choose."

"I'll drink to that," Sean added, and did so.

"So why were you in Jamaica?" Tony asked.

She sighed. "You'll never guess."

"Well, unless you were on a pirate ship being chased by scary men and drinking rum with Johnny Depp, it shouldn't be too unbelievable," Sean answered.

She sighed. "You have no idea."

…

Claudia had just narrowly escaped being skewered by Ragetti. Jack was shouting to them.

"Retreat! Back to _the Pearl_! Hurry, men, there's no time! Back to _the Pearl_!"

Claudia skirted the pursuing Ragetti, kicking him in the groin without any qualms to his future and sprinted as best she could towards _the Pearl_.

"Bloody pirates," she said ironically, running across the gangplank. A man was thrown into the water and the surface frothed, the water turning a deep red color in the early morning. The sharks were still at hand.

As many men who were able to retreated back to _the Pearl _and began repelling boarders from the other ships. Jack watched the anchors and once the last one was hoisted, he gave the helm a whirl and steered them from _The Opal's Revenge_, _the Pearl_'s stern raking the other ship.

"We be taking on water, Cap'n!" Bootstrap shouted.

Jack leaned over and shouted an order. "Armstrong, Dobereiner! Run out the sweeps! Starboard side gunners, down to the bilges. Bail and pump, keep her afloat. Do whatever you have to ta keep her moving. Anamaria, I want those sails full! Port side gunners, fix on their hulls, water line!"

The wind was whipping formidably and Jack was able to steer _the Pearl _clear. Elizabeth, Will, the future kids and Anamaria were firing at the other crew, aiming close to where the water touched the hulls. Jack watched a bullet hit Robin in the chest and he gasped again but continued watching.

To his utter amazement, she took a deep breath and fired again, no blood even showing on her chest. She continued to stand and fire and Jack wondered what was going on. He had missed the scene with Pintel and Scarlette and didn't know about the vests.

_The Pearl _eventually began to create quite a distance from them and the other ship and Jack sighed in relief. Fastest in the Caribbean, was _the Pearl_, and not even Barbossa could catch him.

There was a casualty count. Anamaria made a round, finding who had either been wounded or hadn't made it back.

"Stevenson's got his hands full, sir," she told Jack. "He's down below patchin' up the men. Finnius didn't make it, nor did Algren. They were both killed. Nick, the young boy who came with Will is missing. No one saw anything.

Jack whirled around. "Nick Maxwell? Scarlette's brother?"

Anamaria nodded. "We can't go back, sir. It's too dangerous."

Jack nodded and made his decision. "I know. We aren't going back."

"But he's over there!" Lizzy exclaimed. "We can't just leave him." Jack ignored her and she continued to argue. "He might be killed!" Anamaria rounded on the girl.

"Would you put him before this crew?" she exclaimed. "If we go back for one missing person, many more will be added to that list."

Lizzy stepped back angrily and blurted out. "Then Ryoko's life was worth more? He risked the trip for that!"

Jack whirled around and gave her a pointed look. "My reasons for my actions are calculated, Missy. The threat was not as high when Scarlette was there and they had taken her for one of them. Here, we might pull up to that ship and find that Nick is already dead, thus, our return will be for nothing. I do believe I told you and the boy to stay in Port Royal so that we could avoid this very situation but since he knows so much better than I, he can just get out of his own predicament. I am not responsible for the consequence of his actions, miss."

Lizzy glared but said nothing. She went back to Robin and the other girls to tell them what had happened. Jack continued to sail and grimaced when Schaeffer came to tell him that _the Revenge _and _Dragon _were giving chase.

"Where are we going, Jack?" Bootstrap asked. Jack looked at him sideways and grinned.

"It won't do to reveal me plan yet," he told him. "Who knows how far Dante's range is. I don't want any of our men getting drained of thoughts while they sleep, least of all _that _idea."

Bootstrap looked confused and Jack explained. "Barbossa has a mind reader on board whose talent can only be worked on the sleeping mind. I don't want him figuring out my plan until the opportune moment, or even at all."

He looked back and sneered as he saw _The Opal's Revenge_, the privateer flag still waving about in the sea breeze, _the Dragon _with her two flags, one English, the other, Chinese.

Turning back to the helm, he steered north, not consulting his compass.

…

The women met below, each of them wounded but none fatally. Heather had a nasty bruise on her ribs at which she kept prodding and wincing. Claudia sported a gnarly rip on her knee from being thrown into the foremast and Robin had a laceration down one of her arms from being side swiped by one of the cursed pirates. They had all been treated already by Stevenson and were talking amongst themselves.

"He won't go back for him," Lizzy told them.

"Why the hell not?" Robin exclaimed. "Nick's been through this just as much as Ryoko has."

"Not really, but don't you think it's a bit biased?" Claudia added. "He'd go back for Ryoko, his wife, but for the brother in law, who cares."

"It's not that!" Heather exclaimed. "It's too dangerous to go back for him. Can't you see? He may be more inclined to help Scarlette but it wasn't nearly as dangerous then as it is now, especially with the hull barely holding the water out."

"But we should still try and save him!" Lizzy argued. She bore no wounds and neither did Diana, although Diana was to be expected.

"What kind of man leaves someone behind for a ship?" Diana growled.

"A pirate," Elizabeth said wistfully. "I'm afraid I agree with you, Lizzy. As much as I admire the man Jack has become, I do think we should save Nicholas."

"Don't you understand that we can't do that?" Robin exclaimed, changing her argument to spite Elizabeth. "Do you want to die? Plus, it is sort of Nick's own fault for even coming on this ship in the first place. We were all supposed to be safe in Port Royal right now but we insisted on coming along."

"There's nothing that can be done at this point," Claudia growled. "The decision isn't ours."

…

Nick's ears should have been ringing for all the talk going on about him and Jack. He sat angrily, locked in the brig. There were a few men in the brig with him, the remnants of _The Revenge_'s old crew.

"Who're you?" Nick asked.

"We've been down 'ere for 'long time now," one man said. "One of us gets picked off every night. We be down to the last eight men. No one ever comes back."

"He's killing them," Nick told them. "Eating them for dinner. He's a freakin' vampire."

"They don't exist," one man exclaimed. "I don't believe that hogwash fer a minute. It's almost as preposterous as the idear of _The Black Pearl_!"

Nick laughed at the man. "Do you know what ship just attacked? That was _the_ _Pearl _itself! I just came off it!"

The men laughed at him. "There's no real ship called _The Black Pearl_."

"Yes, there is," Nick argued. "I've seen and ridden it!"

"You've seen it?"

"And been aboard it?" another asked.

"You haven't seen it," the first man growled.

"Yes, I _have_," Nick exclaimed.

"You've seen a ship with black sails that's crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that hell itself spat him back out?" he stated.

"No," Nick told him.

"No, exactly my point," the man said.

"But I have seen _and ridden_ a ship with black sails," Nick answered smugly.

"Oh, and no ship that's not crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that hell itself spat him back out could possibly have black sails and therefore couldn't possibly be any other ship than _The Black Pearl_, is that what you're saying?"

Nick grew frustrated. "_The Pearl _is captained by Jack Sparrow, not Barbossa. If you knew the story, you'd shut up and stop arguing with me. The crew isn't cursed anymore and Jack is in charge, although if you count my sister as part of the crew then the term 'damned' can be applied quite accurately."

Nick sat against the cell wall and sulked like the moody teenager he was. The men went on to argue about whether sparrows could carry coconuts or not and whether a man should shoot himself in the head by aiming at his temple or below his chin.

…

"And then, they made me their chief," Scarlette quoted. "Well, not really. It was Barbossa's idea. He thought since Jack and I were so alike that we'd see the same way as well. He gave me a chance to carry out Jack's bargain. After that, _the Pearl _broadsided _The Opal's Revenge _and he shot me. Jack sent me back, thinking I was dying but Kevlar sure does a wonder." She paused, thinking back to what Jack had said before sending her back. She couldn't really hear him but what she thought he'd said had surprised her even more than landing in Oregon.

She looked at her hosts. It was well past noon and everyone was tired but the boys had made it through the story.

"Like I said before," she said, standing up. "I don't expect you to believe me. I'm taking the couch if you don't mind."

She had told them enough to understand, leaving out Sharon and her 'name'. If they heard 'Scarlette Sparrow', they would accuse her of making it all up.

She tossed the shirts and such off the old couch and wrinkled her nose at the faint scent of alcohol wafting from the cushions. Her hosts were sitting at the table in a daze and she went to the hall cupboard and was lucky enough to find some sheets. She covered the couch herself and took Jack's coat, using it for a blanket. She settled down on the couch, the boys still sitting at the table.

Eventually they rose and went further into the house, leaving her where she lay. She got up to draw the shades but other than that, she slept through the harsh daylight.

Around six, she woke and rewound her hair, pinning it with her chopsticks. She dug around the dirty room, searching for a phone book. She flipped to the Thornburg numbers and tried the first one. Busy signal, wrong number, two answering machines, and finally, a man's voice.

"Hello, is Kristin there?"

"May I ask who's calling?"

"Scarlette."

"Hold on."

A few seconds passed. There were a few incoherent murmurings and the phone was handed to someone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Kristin."

"Scarlette? Scarlette Sparrow?"

"Yes."

"Where are you? Where's Jack? Is everyone all right?"

"Relax! I'm in town. Everyone but you and me is still in the 18th century."

"Where are you?" she asked again.

"I'm staying with two ... I lack a neutral term for my hosts."

"Who are they?"

"Unusual. That's as neutral as I can get. All I know is their names. Tony and Sean. One of them has orange hair, the other with longish brown hair."

"Uh oh," Kristin muttered. "I know them. Ciao and Geraldo right?"

"What?"

"Nothing. I had them in French. Those two are ... well, unusual is a very good word to describe them."

"I told you."

"I'll come and get you. Where?"

"I don't know! I've never been in this town before! I just wanted to know what's going on? Why aren't you back there?"

"I don't know. I thought you guys would still be here. I was down in Cali and everyone was gone so I made arrangements to come home. It's better than wandering around LA by myself."

"They just left you there? Why?"

"I don't know, but when I called my dad for help, he seemed to think I was on some trip or something. I didn't get in trouble. How's it on your end."

"Geez! I can't go five minutes without getting strange glances from these future people. They think I'm emulating Johnny Depp!"

"Well, that's understandable," Kristin agreed. "You don't even realize you're doing it anymore, do you? You're married to Jack after all."

"Married," Scarlette agreed. "That's one way of putting it." There were footsteps in the hall and Scarlette whirled around. "I'll call you when I can, all right? Later." She hung up the phone and met Tony.

"You can use the phone," he told her. "Although, according to your story, you haven't touched one for over a year."

She shrugged. "You don't believe me."

He gave her an incredulous look. "You were sucked back in time! Of course I believe you." He was very sarcastic.

She sighed and sat back on the couch. Tony picked up the phone and called someone.

"Yeah, uh ... do you mind if I borrow your car? Just for like ten minutes? I'm gonna go and get some food. I promise I'll bring it right back. Of course, I'm sober. I'm not Sean. _No_, Sean's not driving, don't worry. I won't even bring him if you don't want me to. What? Have I ever drank and driven? Do I sound drunk? Oh? You should meet our guest. She's got a Depp complex. You two would get along great. A pirate's life. Thanks man. I'll be back in a few." He hung up and addressed her. "I'm off to McDonalds. What do you want?"

Her eyes brightened considerably. "Oh, man! How much do you have?"

He nodded and smiled. "Trust me. I've got enough to feed us. You can't possibly out eat Sean."

"Very well," she began. "Is the #2 still two cheeseburgers? Good, I wasn't sure if it was the same. I want that, plus a large fry and drink, oh, and an extra order of fries, make it two orders of #2, just one drink, coke please, large. And Chicken Selects. Those are yummy! Oh, and I'd like a …." she continued on, ordering just about everything on the menu and Tony's face turned grim.

"How about just the first few things," he said. "I've got a twenty and _we_ still need to eat."

"Okay," she agreed. He left the room and she locked the front door behind him. She sat back on the couch, looking through the mess on the table. There were discarded DVD boxes, _Monty Python, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pulp Fiction_ and a number of other various titles including one she'd never seen before that seemed to be a custom addition. The cover seemed to have been made in a paint program on computer and the title _Sea Trek_, was new to her. She opened the case and saw, as she predicted, a writable CD inside. There was a pocket inside that had a list of names, some full names, others brief. Dan, Tony, Sean, CAP, Kyle, and a few others, unreadable. She didn't know any of these people, with the exception of her hosts.

An alarm rang somewhere in the back of the house and a groan commenced. The ringing continued until a loud BANG echoed through the hallway. A few moments later, Sean appeared, wearing the same mismatched clothes he'd had the night before, obviously having slept in them. His orange hair was disheveled, standing up straight in the air, the curls matted in a most comical fashion. He looked a bit like Kramer from Seinfeld. He started at her on the couch, forgetting that she had been there.

He noticed the case in her hand. "Oh, that. Funniest thing and possibly the stupidest. Tim Burbridge. That kid has entirely too much free time on his hands. It's a PowerPoint CD. Speaking of which, the UFP of Grants Pass is selling our CDs, which surpass his by far. Five dollars, if you're interested."

She raised one eyebrow and pulled out a coin. "Unless you accept reales, I'm broke. What would I do with a CD anyway? I don't have a computer. I live …." she cast her eyes downward.

"On a pirate ship?" Sean ended. "That was an entertaining story but not a very believable one, sorry."

She shrugged. "I warned you."

"Where's Tony?"

"Getting food."

"I hope it's Matsukaze," Sean said. "I want Asian food."

"What did you say? Ma- mat su causee?"

"Matsukaze?" he repeated. "The local Japanese food place?"

"Spell that," she commanded. He did and she cringed.

"No wonder I couldn't understand you. You didn't pronounce it right. Matsukaze. The "U" is skimmed over, almost as if you're saying matskazé. The "E" at the end is longer than the second "A" and isn't an 'ee' sound, more like an 'eh'."

"Shut yer mouth," he joked. « _Tais toi_. »

« _Taisez-vous_, » she corrected.

"Dang, you speak French too?"

« _Bien sur. Je parle français et Japonais aussi_. »

"Well, maybe you can help us out. We never learned anything from our French class."

She shrugged and there was a knock on the door. Sean looked around in confusion and went to open the door. He opened it without checking the identity of the visitor and was greeted with a pale boy with glasses.

"Burbridge, what do you want?"

"Shane said Tony had a visitow." Sean shrugged and stepped back. The boy stepped into the room and beheld Scarlette. He looked utterly shocked at seeing her sitting there.

He turned to Sean and started laughing. "Who is she? Whoevew she is, she'll pwobably be the only giwl who ever entews any house you ow Tony inhabit." Scarlette noted the boy's slight speech impediment. He had a problem with "R".

"You've got a point there," Sean agreed. He shut the door and the kid sat down. "This is Tim," Sean introduced. "He's an idiot."

"Hey, I wesemble that wemawk," Tim remarked. Scarlette laughed. The phone rang all of a sudden, sending her jumping. She hadn't heard that in over a year either. Sean picked it up and answered it.

"UFP Mortuaries, you stab 'em, we slab 'em. You kill 'em, we grill 'em. You snuff 'em, we stuff 'em. We offer group rates. Who are we boxing today? Oh, hi Dan. Oh, so you talked to Shane? Yeah, there is an actual girl sitting on my couch. Oh, wait, make that two girls. Burbridge is also sitting on my couch. No! What's wrong with you guys? Why do you want to come over? You think I'm lying? Burbridge is here right now! He can tell—well, you've got a point but—fine, but you're not getting any of my food." He hung up. "Dan's coming over."

The phone rang again and Sean picked up. "What Dan? Oh, sorry Kyle. What? No. Are you drunk? I said no! What girl? There's no girl? Shane's a big fat liar!"

Tim shouted out. "Hi, Olivo!"

Sean glared at him. "No, that wasn't Burbridge you just heard. No! It's not—" Sean stared at the buzzing phone. "Kyle's on his way over." He let the receiver click back on the charger and frowned.

"Kyle Olivo," Tim laughed. "That guy is funny. He can't stand up to a woman, but when it comes to us guys, he won't budge fow anything."

"Son of a," Sean shook his fist at Tim. Scarlette raised an eyebrow. The phone rang again. Sean stepped on the taught cord and the phone popped out of the jack on the wall.

A minute later, the door opened and a red headed boy stepped in without knocking, his hair curled so tightly it seemed to be glued on. He also wore glasses and freckles dotted his nose. He wore a blue tinted army fatigue bandana over his left eye.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Sean exclaimed. "Here's Dan, another idiot. this is ... I can't pronounce your name."

"Just call me Scarlette," she answered. "Everyone else does."

"I'm blind," Dan answered.

"Really? You weren't blind yesterday," Tim answered. "Did you walk in on Tony again?"

"I heard that," Tony growled, turning the corner. Another boy with bright blue eyes came in behind him. This new boy was extremely pale and had dark circles under his eyes. He sat down and sighed in relief.

"Oh, there's Shane," Sean announced. "She's Scarlette."

Tony looked confused. "I thought your name was Pikachu?"

Scarlette started laughing, as did the others. She spoke up and the boys looked at her in wonder.

"Ryoko is too hard to pronounce and there are only five people who call me that anymore. Scarlette seems to have become my name."

They shrugged and started looking hungrily at Tony who held the large bag. He began to step back in fear, looking around at the hungry stares.

"Get your own food, vultures!" he exclaimed.

Dan stood. "Come on, Tim. Let's go get something. We'll be back." They ran into someone on the walk and took them along, too.

The four left in the apartment delved into the food, Scarlette savoring the fries with a fervor. She sure had missed this part of her time.

A phone rang and Sean got up. He jumped a foot in the air and shouted. The phone had been unhooked. Tony sighed and Shane pulled out his cell phone.

"Hello? Yeah, it's me. What's up? Where am I? At Tony and Sean's house. You know where that is. Come on over if you want. Okay, later then." He hit the button on the phone and continued to eat.

"Who the hell was that?" Sean asked. "Stop inviting people to our house!"

"Chill, it was only Darren," Shane answered, swallowing a fry with a gulp of soda.

"Darren?" Tony exclaimed. "He's not bringing his girlfriend with him, is he?"

"Who, Tasja?" Shane asked. "He's not with her anymore."

"Praise the Lord," Sean commented. "That girl was more annoying than a donkey."

"Or mule," Shane added.

"Or a badger," Tony concluded, drawing laughs from his friends. Scarlette didn't understand. She was pretty sure it was some random inside joke that had been uproariously funny once upon a time.

The door rang with a knock and Darren, a boy with a black hat, vaguely mouse like features and large blue eyes entered. A few minutes later, Dan and Tim returned with the last boy, a plainly dressed person with short clipped fuzzy hair and green eyes.

"There's Darren and Kyle," Tony introduced. "This is Scarlette."

The men in the room were gawking at her. She was actually pretty, unlike what they were expecting, to be in Tony and Sean's house anyways.

"Whoa, Tony," Kyle cracked. "Did you chloroform her or something? How'd she get here?"

"To clear something up for some of you," Tony continued. "She was supposed to be our fourth tuba player."

"What?" Darren exclaimed. "You're like ... tiny! You couldn't be a tuba player."

Scarlette sighed. "I'll arm wrestle you if you want."

Kyle was shaking his head and Shane was looking at her in awe but the others who weren't in band didn't understand. Darren took her up on the offer and she dropped the coat, stretching out her right arm. It was fairly scarred above the elbow. Someone asked about it and she looked over at the cicatrice.

"Oh," she smirked. "My arm was broken." She bent to her knees and clasped hands with the challenger. It was a struggle, but she managed finally to muscle his arm down to the table. There were jeers towards the boy who'd lost and Scarlette was rightly accepted.

"Nice shirt," Dan said. A phone rang somewhere and the boys scrambled to find out to which it belonged. Dan pulled out his phone.

"Hello? Hung up? No, I don't think so." He looked over and spoke to Sean. "Did you hang up on Cap?"

"Uh ..." Sean started laughing. "No, of course not."

Dan returned to his cell. "Yeah, he hung up on you. Everyone's here! Better bring your own food though. See you later." He hung up and Sean shook his head.

"Are you insane?" Tony asked. "We don't have room!"

"I think it's all her fault," Sean muttered. "No, I take it back. It's Shane. You told everybody!"

Shane laughed. "Sorry."

So another joined the 'party', though the room was hardly big enough. Scarlette could hardly keep their names straight, confusing Cap with Tim and Darren with Shane. There were eight men in the room, or rather, eight boys on the verge of becoming men, though some were less than masculine in Scarlette's opinion, being used to sharing company with pirates and sailors and of course Jack, who in many women's opinion was a man among men.

Tony turned on the television and popped in _Monty Python_. Two hours later, they moved on to _Pirates of the Caribbean_. Scarlette shook her head at the little quotes. "_Clearly you've never been to Singapore."_ She knew the stories behind them.

Of course, Sean broke out the liquor. Soon, the boys were saying lines as well, their acting drunk unneeded. Scarlette however, thanks to Jack himself, had the best accent, the strongest tolerance, and just about everything else. The boys had mixed the Bacardi rum with their soft drinks but she took it pure and still came out on top. Crown Royal, Tanqueray, Kahlua, Bourbon, Merlot, and anything else one could name, it didn't matter. She beat them all.

She found herself sitting up on the couch, three of the eight asleep on the very floor, one retching in the bathroom, and the others too drunk to speak, except for Cap. He was used to it, having spent a month in Germany where he'd been given liquor occasionally.

"You're the smallest one in here," he pointed out. "You drank the most, and you're hardly drunk."

She shrugged. "You might say I'm used to it. I spent the last year with ... a very close friend of sorts doing a lot of drinking. You might say I was living that movie. The first few times I fell under his prowess but that didn't stop my attempting to compete with him."

"Who was this?"

"No one you know," she answered. "Well, no one you know personally. I've been having a pirate's life."

"I'll drink to that," Sean groaned in his sleep. He kicked Darren absently and the other boy rolled over.

She was holding a golden key in her hand. Cap noticed this and asked to see it. She tossed it to him and he looked at it. She closed her eyes and leaned back on the couch. He handed it back, tapping her knee with it. She took it from him and replaced it in her pocket. Cap looked at his fingernails and cleaned off the brown grit under them absently. He took another swig and about met his level, slumping to the floor and sleeping. Scarlette sat in a room full of intoxicated teenage boys and she was fine.

She sighed. "I wonder what Jack _really_ said."

…

Jack was wondering the same thing. He was steering _the Pearl _towards his goal. He knew what he'd said and also wondered if she'd return, if she'd lived, or even if he would live to see her again. _The Opal's Revenge _was keeping up, loosing about a league every day they sailed. The rowers had to be switched every hour or so to keep that edge. _The_ _Dragon _was far off but could still be seen. If _the Pearl _and _Opal _stopped to fight, then the flagship would catch up with them.

He allowed Anamaria to man the helm for a while and he found Barton. "Talk to me, mate. I need to know something."

Barton looked at him skeptically. "What is it that you want?"

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but looked around, as if afraid of being heard. "How can I tell if she's all right?"

"She lives," Barton assured him. "As for anything more, I cannot say. Where she landed? I don't know."

Jack gave him a squinted look. "What if she doesn't return?"

Barton shrugged. "I can send you to get her, I suppose, but that'll be tricky."

Jack scowled and went back to the helm, telling Anamaria what to do. He gave her unspecific instructions, not wanting her to know where they were headed either, and the retired to his cabin. He needed to sleep as well.

The dream came and he was shocked to find himself in a dingy room. There were oddly dressed boys around, dead or drunk and he saw his own face on a small box. He was so confused for a moment that he almost stood but decided to listen for a bit.

"_As long as you're just hanging there, pay attention. The only rules that really matter are these. What a man can do and what a man _can't _do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man, or you can't. The pirate is in your blood boy so you'll have to square with that some day. Now me, for example, I can let you drown, but I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesies, savvy? So,-" _he rolled the helm and the boom swung back over the deck, dropping Will Turner down to the wood with a smack. _"Can you sail under the command of a pirate, or can you not?"_

_ "Tortuga?" _Will asked, taking the sword Jack offered him.

_"Tortuga," _Jack confirmed, his little grin revealing a few gold teeth.

Jack himself was terrified at this but didn't move simply because he couldn't. He could look around and noticed that he seemed to have shrunk considerably. He looked down at his hands and caught sight of something that made him jump. Since when did he have a pair of _those_? He moved his legs and flinched, discovering something else. This was too weird! He was in a girl's body! He saw the hands and realized it was Scarlette he was seeing. He'd recognize those fingernails anywhere and it helped to see the necklace with its rings swinging around her neck.

He understood now. She had had dreams of him after he'd escaped the sharks and now he was dreaming of her, probably after the event before him. He also understood with a sort of educator's pride that she'd drank all the other men under the table. Got Rum indeed.

The dream faded into blackness and he continued to sleep.

…

She was dreaming as well, her mind wandering along at a strangely slow pace. She was walking through a misty landscape, jungle plants and hillsides swooping out suddenly from the cotton like fog. She could see the shadow of a person up ahead and she ran to find them. As she neared, she could tell it was Jack.

She touched his shoulder and he turned to look at her. He smiled devilishly and put his hands on her waist, swinging her around and gently planting her back on the damp earth.

"Have you found it yet?" he asked her and she regarded him with confusion.

"Found what Jack?" she asked. "What are you talking about? Have you lost something?"

"It is not I that has lost something," he told her. "I have gained. It is you who have lost. Have you found it yet? Your heart?"

"Heart? I have not lost my heart?" she answered, looking up at him with wide eyes. "Why do you say these things?"

"Ah," he said. "You may not have lost your heart, but you certainly haven't found it."

"You're beginning to remind me of Stephen Crane," she told him, though he couldn't comprehend what she meant. "Is it good friend? No, it is bitter, bitter. But I like it, because it is bitter, and because it is my heart."

"And is your heart bitter, luv?" he asked her. "Do you feed on yourself as I do?"

"Why, Jack, do you say these things?"

"You must not have heard my last words," he whispered.

"Oh! Tell me what you said! I think I know, but I'm not quite sure."

"And what is it that you think I said?"

"Well, I can't be sure, but—"

"Yes?"

"Well, I think it might have been ... nah, it couldn't be, not you."

"What do you picture?"

"Never mind. It is impossible."

"Nothing's impossible, darlin'. What did I say."

"I don't want to tell you what I think you said."

"Out with it, luv."

"Jack," she told him. "Unless I am deluding myself, which is very possible, but unlikely, considering the circumstance, I believe you said "_I_—"

"Sea monkey has my money," a voice interrupted. She snapped awake, her eyes adjusting to the dimly lit room. Darren was murmuring in his corner.

"Bloody hell," she muttered, twisting in her spot, getting comfortable again. Had to pick that time to speak. What a weird dream. I wonder if it meant anything or if I'm just thinking too much. '_I wish I did know what he said_.'

…

Well, that one seemed to take me longer. Winter Break is over and all, you know. I finished this one at 4:45 am, after performing a scene from the movie for my school. You all know the dock scene right? Where Anamaria slaps Jack? Well, here's our cast as you know them. The parrot was played by Heather of the story, Anamaria played by Kristin, Gibbs was actually played by Sean, who was introduced in this chapter, and Jack was played by me. The other three members of our cast don't appear here, at least not yet. The funniest thing was Kristin, who actually slapped me! I was so surprised I almost forgot my next line!

The weirdest thing was afterwards when a guy dressed, I kid you not, a pinstriped suit with a fedora on (ring a bell? Johnny Depp's outfit at the premier.) He said I made a great Jack Sparrow. His hair was pulled back, sort of in a _Chocolat _style_._ I almost swooned, not really, but you get the idea. He didn't really look like Johnny Depp, but the outfit and the comment was so coincidental that I had to write it down.

The thing about the scene is that we're preparing for an event in Medford called the Regional Acting competition in February. We've got about a month to fine-tune it, though there are a few members I'm particularly worried about, none of them mentionable. *cough* _Justin _*cough*. (Sean runs in background making a 'flamer' sign with his hands.) Or even the girl who's doing the narration, who lacks a certain ... bravado I'm looking for. The others are great, though Will needs to work on the accent. Oh, well. Not everyone's as crazy as me and that's probably a good thing because if everyone could do what I could do, it wouldn't be fun anymore, plus, I wouldn't have an excuse to get out of the house. Not everyone can emulate Johnny Depp. ~_~

Speaking of which, I'm looking for information on The Secret Window and the newest version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"_Curse ya fer breathin', ya slack jawed idiot! Ah! Mother's love! Jack! You should know better'n ta wake a man when he's sleepin'. S'bad luck!"_

_ "Ah, fortunately I know how to counter it. The man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking."_

_ "Aye. That'll about do it. _SPLASH _"Blast, I'm already awake!"_

_ "That was for the smell."_

Until next chapter, ta.

**Revisited 1-19-07 9:57 pm**


	21. Chapter XX : Into the Plains Invisible

Hello folks. Sorry about that last chapter. I think I'd best bring up my Disclaimers up. A disclaimer to Monty Python, Pulp Fiction, Disney Land, Jurassic Park, and Timothy Burbridge. I don't own him or Sea Trek (Thank God) I suppose I also owe a disclaimer to the UFP, though they shouldn't sue me. You might say this is an advertisement, crazy jerks. A disclaimer to anything I've quoted such as That's the Spirit, a theatrical one acts play and ... well, Angus Barnette, Giles New, and of course, Johnny Depp.

Without further ado, I give you what you've been waiting (or not) for;

**Chapter XX –Into the Plains Invisible **

Scarlette sat up in anger, standing from the couch and stepping angrily over the slumped bodies of the boys. She was holding the key in her hand and it was clean of blood, completely. She held it in her hand and growled in anger when it didn't react. She tried to remember what had happened and recalled showing it to Cap. He must have scratched it off. She wanted to scream. She was stuck here in a room full of computer nerds in the 21st century. It was hardly preferable to being surrounded by pirates.

She paced around the small kitchen, feeling trapped in the room where her footsteps echoed around the linoleum.

She wanted to wring every neck in that room and then flee forever but she continued pacing until she had calmed down a bit. She tip toed to the other room, picked up the phone and carried it into the kitchen with her. She tried to dial but there wasn't a ring tone.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed. One or two of the boys stirred and sat up, sleepy eyes, their hair tousled.

"Someone shoot me," one of them said. "My head is going to explode.

"Well, that's what you get for drinking all night," she spat. She remembered all too well the mornings she'd woken up and thought she was going to die with that hangover. Damn, Jack.

After a while, the boys all woke. Scarlette filled a bucket she'd found and let them have it.

"What! What did you do that for?" Tony sputtered.

"If they go home like this, their parents are going to come straight over here to chew you out. If they go home sober, they can at least try to explain themselves."

The boys shrugged and let her handle the situation. She opened the fridge and pulled out some cans of soda, giving them out. "Drink these. It'll help. The caffeine does that for some reason."

They glanced at each other. Darren spoke up. "How come you're okay? Didn't you drink more than any of us?"

She gave him a dark look. "If you only knew the half of it."

The boys did sober up after a while and one by one, they left. Scarlette sat back on the couch, sulking, her arms crossed in anger. Her two hosts shrugged and left her to herself.

…

Nick woke with a start as Barbossa smacked the bars with the flat of his sword. "You boy. You're comin' with me."

"Nope," Nick said groggily. "I ain't goin' nowhere with you. You'll just kill me."

Barbossa sneered at him. "That is a thought, but I need to speak with ye. Get up."

Nick stood and brushed himself off. Barbossa wrenched open the door and grabbed him roughly by the arm, bruising his flesh in his powerful grip.

Nick was dragged over the moonlit decks and pulled rudely into the captain's quarters. He was thrown to the floor without ceremony and left to blink in rapid succession as Barbossa slammed the door.

"Eat, boy," Barbossa growled. "You're going to need your strength." Nick then noticed the candles on the table, which was laden with food. The boy hungrily moved and reached for the food, but hesitated.

"Why are you feeding me?" he asked suspiciously. "Is this poisoned?"

Barbossa laughed. "There will be no sense to be killin' ya, Mr. Maxwell. I'm merely here to talk to ya about your dear sister."

Nick scoffed. "My _dear _sister? It's her fault I'm here in the first place. '_Dear_,' he says. Pishaw." Nick pulled a grape off one long stem, sniffed it, licked it charily and popped it into his mouth, squishing the purple fruit between his teeth, savoring the tasty juices as they slid over his tongue.

Barbossa was watching him carefully, wishing he could eat. "I'm going to give ye the chance to take what Jack and Scarlette both violently, yet cunningly declined. How would ye like to be me partner, eh?"

Nick glared at him. "Is that what you came to ask me? I can't betray my friends. In other words, I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request."

Barbossa laughed shortly and shook his head. "What do you take me for boy? I don't want the others, just Scarlette. I've decided to kill her."

Nick looked neutral. "You killed her already. Jack is your target."

Lifting the boy up by the neck, Barbossa growled. "Do not presume to tell me my agenda, boy." He set him down and gave him a look. "I know Jack is still alive but he's a matter for another day. With your help, I can take Scarlette and send her below. Are you interested yet? It gets better, my friend. You will become Captain Nicholas Maxwell, the commander of _The Opal's Revenge_. Have I perked your interest yet?"

Nick popped another few grapes into his mouth, rubbed his neck unconcernedly, and stared at Barbossa pointedly. "And you won't harm the others?"

Barbossa smiled. "No, I won't harm the others. All I want at this moment is Scarlette. She should be dead … what I did to her should have killed her, but I can feel it. She's still alive. I've tasted her blood and my palette will not rest until she is dead."

Nick thought about it. He hated his sister now that he addressed the issue. He'd risked his life to bring her back to the future and she'd gone back to Jack. Now, she had gotten them into this mess, as he saw it. He made up his mind. As long as it was only Scarlette they were betraying, he could live with it. Plus, he was pretty sure she was dead anyways.

"And I have your word that the others will be safe?"

"Aye, boy," Barbossa agreed. "They'll be safe." Barbossa didn't finish his thought. They would be safe, for the time being. "What say you?" he asked Nick. Nick smiled shortly and held out his hand.

"We're in business, Barbossa," Nick agreed. He hadn't dealt long enough with the murderous captain to be too specific.

"We have an accord," Barbossa shook with the boy and motioned. "Keep eatin'. It'll do you good. You need more meat on your bones. What is it with you and your sister anyways? Both of you have nothing on you, well, I guess I can't really say that fer Scarlette. She's got meat in the right places, if you know what I mean, though I've seen better. A few of them wenches in her party are better." Nick choked on his food but quickly regained his composure.

Barbossa sat back and watched Nick eat the food, relishing when he took one of the apples. He was laughing inside. Scarlette was already dead. He'd killed her himself. Nick was just helping him kill the rest of them, though he had no way of knowing this.

…

Jack woke and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, stretching his cramped limbs. He took a swig of rum and dressed himself quickly. Once he was ready, he went outside to replace Anamaria. She moved off and went to sleep herself.

He checked the compass absently and whistled a verse of '_yo, ho_'. They were still on course. He snapped the compass shut.

"SQUAAWWK! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!"

"Not right now, Cotton," Jack muttered.

"SQUAWK! Salty old pirates! SQUAWK!"

"Cotton, I'm not flattered by that remark but have it your way. I'll tell a bloody story. Which one?"

"Tell us the Singapore story!" Lizzy exclaimed. "I always wanted to know about that."

There were several more requests and Jack looked around the deck. Bootstrap stood up and suggested louder than the others a story not yet heard.

"You see mates," Bootstrap said. "Our Captain Jack has had many a run in with the East India Trading co. and many an escape as well. I trust you remember the agents, Jack."

"Ah, yes," Jack said with a smirk. "I sure thought that was the end of me, there. I'm not too fond of this story, considering how I was forced to escape but since you brought it up, I suppose I'll tell them an entertaining story."

{FLASHBACK}

_Jack was once again on the run. He was hiding out in Bombay, all manner of men following him, or attempting to anyways. Jack, a man of eccentric flaws but flaws nonetheless had raided the local pub the night before and had several bottles of rum and other such goods._

_ He was walking, drunk of course, at about nine at night when they caught him. Damn East India freaks. He was dragged off to the nearest hotel and held there by a man named Beckett and his six toadies._

_ There were seven of them in the room with him and he was tied to a chair with the agents in a semi circle around him._

_ "Tell us where your stash is, Jack," Beckett had said before he was chairman, back when all he could do was threaten people. "That money belongs to England and all the other countries you've pirated against. We intend to get it from you and if you want to keep your miserable hide from hanging, you'll do well to relinquish the location."_

_ "Sorry, boys," Jack said confidently. "I can't help you. I don't know where I left me riches."_

_ "They're not your riches, buffoon," another growled at him. Jack shrugged, despite his hands being tied behind his back. Another struck him across the face and they laughed at his blinking visage. He glared up at them and spit out a glob of blood. Beckett just watched, unblinking, cold._

_ "Think about it, Sparrow," he told him, his voice strangely intimate. "You might be hung or you might be spared. I care not what happens to you but working with me might influence the outcome."_

_ Jack just looked at him. "You don't have the authority to pardon me, Cutler. Any deal I make with you is a false one."_

_ "Perhaps," he replied, holding up a pistol. "But I have influences in the courts that you do not, Sparrow. Do not forget that. Now, where is the hoard?"_

_ He grinned again. "Would you believe I spent it all?" Beckett raised one aristocratic eyebrow and nodded to the men. They left the room._

_ Jack shook his head as they slammed the door and locked it. _

_ They sat on the other side of the door and began to converse amongst themselves. A maid came by and entered the room Jack was being kept in. She closed the door behind her and began to tidy up the room beyond._

_ The men were getting furious in their argument. One wanted to kill him right then and there, another wanting to interrogate him more, maybe use implements of torture. The door opened and closed quickly and they glanced absently at the maid. She left the room without acknowledging them and continued on her way, locking Jack's door behind her._

_ An hour or so later, the men finally came to a conclusion. They would attempt to persuade Jack by threatening him, one man pulling out another brand, knives and such. They went to the door and unlocked it, opening the door. The lamps had long since been spent out. One man struck up his flint and relit a lantern, glancing around the room. The only thing, besides the lamps, was an empty chair with bits of rope dangling from the arms and legs. Captain Jack Sparrow had vanished yet again. Impossibly so._

_ All seven of the men became frantic, looking around in a rage. There were no windows in the room and the only door led into the room they had been occupying for the last three hours. The only thing that had passed them had been the maid._

_ Jack, at the moment, was off again, on his way to Tortuga by angler. He was smirking again, having foiled yet another enemy. He stuffed the clothes in his hand on a random but convenient doorstep and continued on his way to the ship, boarding along with the fisherman, having bartered for passage._

_ He thought back to what he'd just done and almost laughed aloud. The maid had come in and seen him tied and bloodied. She had given a little squeak of surprise._

_ "Please untie me," he'd pleaded. "Those men mean to kill me. Help me, please." She hastened to his side and untied the ropes easily. He rubbed his wrists and stood, careful not to make any noise. He watched the maid move about the room and an idea formed in his mind. He touched her shoulder and she whirled around. He grabbed her waist and pulled her in close, kissing her roughly. She made no sound and the tight corset did the rest of the work. She fainted breathlessly and Jack grinned, lowering her to the floor softly and without too much noise._

_ Looking around, he took in the windowless walls and sighed. There was a hinged panel of wood about stomach level in the wall. He grinned when he spotted the dumbwaiter. He pushed it open and smiled, pulling the ropes until he could see below the platform. It wasn't far at all. He started to climb into it but realized his shoulders were too broad. There was no way he was going to fit into the tiny shoot. He looked back to the unconscious woman._

_ Another idea formed in his mind, one that was a bit more … embarrassing._

_ In two strides he made his way to the unconscious maid. He easily untied her dress strings and grimaced. It was the only way he was getting out of this room. He only hoped the agents didn't come in while he was at it._

_ Soon, he was grudgingly dressed in the maid's clothing, his matted locks bundled under the little hat she wore. He folded his own clothes and placed them on the chair. He didn't want to leave the maid there for if she woke, his escape might be cut off sooner than he'd like. He looked around, absurd in the dress. _

_She wouldn't have far to fall and it was a soft landing. They used the dumbwaiter for laundry and below was a great pile of clothing and bed sheets and such. He tipped the unconscious woman into the dumbwaiter and watched her slide down the shoot. He then picked up his things, wrapped them in a pillowcase, and exited the room._

_ Jack was short enough that the dress covered his feet, his boots hidden by the burgundy hems. He'd cinched the apron tightly to give himself the appearance of having a smaller waistline and even had taken the woman's earrings. _

_ He kept his head down, the hat hiding him from view. He left the room and walked quickly until he reached the street. He then sprinted for the stable yard where, next to a very giddy animal, he disrobed and changed back to his own clothing._

_ "Well Jack," he said to himself. "Now you've tried everything."_

{END FLASHBACK}

The future girls were doubled over with laughter. Robin was trying to imagine Jack in the dress, laughing harder when she found she could actually see it. He looked around the deck with a slightly exasperated glance. "What? I had to do it! There was no way out of that bloody room, I tell you."

They were still laughing when a cannon shot ripped through the air. Jack frowned and pulled out his spyglass.

"What was that?" he exclaimed. "That didn't come from behind us." He scanned the sea, discerning a foggy shape through the mist. There was an unintelligible flag waving from the main mast and Jack squinted, attempting to get a glimpse of the colors. It was a three barred flag but other than that, he couldn't make it out. He did notice a peculiar symbol emblazoned on the bow however. He snapped the spyglass shut and turned the helm. If this was an enemy ship, they were in trouble. They would be trapped on both sides.

"Don't strike any colors, men," Jack shouted. "No black flag, no English flag, and sure as hell no merchant flag. We don't know what's on that ship. It could be pirates, Englishmen, Spanish, French, anything. We don't want them comin' down on us." He pulled her hard to starboard and realized he was loosing valuable distance between him and the two pursuing ships, but he had been headed straight for the mystery ship.

Once his course was reset, he held his breath. Would the other ship give chase? It was in a bad position to fire, the bow pointed at _the Pearl_. Jack squinted through the glass again and made out the symbol on the bow. It was a fleur-de-lis. He smiled slightly. There was a way out of this yet.

…

Scarlette met Kristin at the school that day, Tony and Sean hanging in the background, wondering what she was doing. She talked to the girl quickly and explained what she needed. Kristin shrugged.

"I can't help with that," she told her. "Nick had the beads. I wasn't included. Are you sure you can't get back?"

"Positive," Scarlette told her. "Jack sent me back here because he thought I was dying. I tried to go back this morning but the key's been cleansed. The blood is gone."

"Do you believe her?" Tony asked the girl. She just gave him a look and he shut up. Sean laughed at him.

"I need to get back!" Scarlette exclaimed. "I don't know if he's alive or dead!"

"You're right," Kristin agreed. "You need to get back to him and Sharon."

"Who's Sharon?" Sean asked.

Kristin looked at the two newcomers in wonder, shaking her head in exasperation, then back at Scarlette. The pirate shrugged. "So I didn't tell them the whole story."

"What are you talking about!" they asked in unison, looking at each other and shaking their fists. They were like twins. Very, very fraternal, but twins nonetheless. Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

"I left out the parts about my ... status," she told the Kristin. She nodded in understanding. "I thought that if they knew, they'd take it all as some elaborate joke, you know?"

"We took it that way anyway," Tony muttered.

Scarlette glared at them and frantically began pacing. "I can't wait! I need to go now!"

"Hey, did you hear who died?" Sean asked suddenly. Scarlette perked up but the other girl had heard this before.

"Who?"

"Nope, Geraldo," he exclaimed. He and Tony burst into a fit of laughter and Scarlette blanched.

"_Baka ne_," she muttered. "Both of you."

"What did you call us?" Tony asked. "Cows?"

"No, that's vaca," she said. "That wasn't Spanish, it was Japanese. _Baka _means idiot. Geez, sheltered children ye be."

"I can't even speak English very well," Sean muttered. "Let alone Japanese or French."

"Or Spanish," Tony added. "German too."

Scarlette shrugged. "I can only speak three languages, sorry boys. I learned French from a teacher in California, English from everyone else, and Japanese from a little bitch whom I later ended up killing."

"What?" Kristin exclaimed. "What happened?"

Scarlette turned to her. "I had to kill Mei Lin."

"Why?" she asked. "God, what else have I missed?"

Scarlette shrugged. "I was in Barbossa's cabin and she came in and started giving us away. She started telling him about Jack being alive and everything so I shot her."

"What did Barbossa say?"

"He believed me when I told him she was lying. He found out later anyway after he shot me. Jack tried to kill him then but he locked himself in the cabin and, well, after that, I don't know what happened."

The shock of hearing about Mei Lin wore off and the Kristin began to speak again. "What about the others. Are they still alive?"

"I don't know!" Scarlette exclaimed. "Anything could have happened after I was sent back."

Tony scoffed. "I can't believe how well you guys are acting this out!"

Scarlette glared at him. "I suppose I'll just have to prove it to you. Next opportunity I get, you two are coming with me."

They glanced at each other and shrugged.

"That might be a bad idea," Kristin added. "Think about what would happen."

Scarlette shrugged. "They might be impressed into the crew, but it wouldn't last long. Once Jack figured out what they were, he'd send them back."

"Or toss them overboard," Kristin added.

"That's an idea," Scarlette agreed.

"Hey," Tony exclaimed. "You guys are mean."

"I'll drink to that," Sean added.

"One thing's for sure," Scarlette smirked. "They'd fit in with the crew."

The four kids shrugged and walked around the town, chatting, goading, and bantering uselessly at each other.

…

Nick sat uncomfortably in his clothes, the shoes not quite fitting him right. He had been given more fit clothing, breeches, buckle shoes, frock vest, coat, and blouse. He even wore a hat, his long hair curling much like Will's had.

He looked down at his hands, wondered what he was getting himself into, and if it was it worth it? He didn't know.

The morning had come and Nick had been shoved out of the cabin to walk amongst the crew, learn the ropes so to speak.

He was perched up in the rigging, his shoes left below so he could grip the rope better. He was looking at _the Pearl _and he happened to notice another ship, not _the Dragon_, but a three masted ship moving along, almost pacing them. The flag had three bands, blue, white, and red, but Nick didn't know what the flag was. He had heard the cannon fire last night and had assumed it was _the Pearl _but seeing this new ship, he wondered if they had yet another ally.

He smiled to himself and knew, this time, he'd get the better of his sister once and for all.

Barbossa smiled to himself, thinking he'd gotten help he needed without any persuasion at all. Nick wanted to kill his already dead sister.

(_Note to readers; those of you who recognize the flag of the mystery ship, I commend you. Those of you who realize what's going to happen soon, I doubly commend you.)_

…

Will Turner was pacing in front of the captain's quarters, waiting for Jack to open the door. He had a stiff subject to approach. Jack, annoyed at the constant clack of his shoes on the deck outside, opened the door and gave him a pointed look.

"Are you finished making dust of me planks yet? Come in Will. You could have knocked."

"I did knock."

"Oh, well then, by all means, enter into me humble abode."

Jack shut the door and bade Will to sit at the table. He offered him rum but Will declined.

"I want you to send them back," he told him. "It's too dangerous to have them all here, plus, Elizabeth isn't safe. I want her to go with them."

Jack stared at him sideways. "And you think their time would be safer, do you?"

Will didn't budge, looking at Jack down his nose. "She'll be with Robin and the others. She'll be safe with them to protect her."

Jack continued to look at him neutrally. He stood and went to the door. "Barton! I need ye in me cabin."

The vampire obliged and labored up the steps, entering the room, squinting at the lamps lit within. Jack shut the door and the three men sat at the table.

"Will here wants to send the women back to their time, along with Elizabeth," Jack enlightened him.

"That's a very good idea," Barton agreed. "They'll be out of the crossfire then. Bring 'em up."

A few minutes later, the women on the ship, minus Anamaria, trooped into Jack's cabin.

"I'm sending ye back," he told them. "And Will has requested that you take Elizabeth with you."

Everyone suddenly broke out in anger.

"We can't leave! Nick's still over there!"

"I'm not leaving you, Will!"

"Why do we have to go back?"

"You're a banana eater!"

"Quiet!" Jack exclaimed. "I'm sorry, ladies, but I can't risk having you aboard. Do you know what Barbossa's men might do to you?"

"We don't care!" Robin exclaimed. "We want to stay and fight!"

"Bloody Styrofoam!" Jack exclaimed.

"Why would Styrofoam be bloody?" Lizzy asked absently. Robin snorted.

"I don't know," she answered. "Maybe it's some weird type of tampon."

"Um ..." Will spoke softly and timidly. "What's a tampon?" the girls, minus Elizabeth, broke into a gale of laughter. Claudia started to explain it but couldn't get the words out.

Jack sighed and nodded to Barton. He moved up to Robin, took her necklace in his hand, jammed it into his thumb, and pushed her away from him. She disappeared. The others were all trapped seeing as Will stood by the door. The vampire made his rounds, sending them back with their own gold and using other things, a golden corkscrew Jack had lying around, a candlestick Jack had filched, etc. Heather was the last one standing in the cabin and as Barton approached her with a golden spoon, she pulled out her sword and threatened him.

"Don't come near me or I'll skewer you," she threatened, taking a fencing stance, her left hand crooked behind her head, her feet making a corner of a box, spread about a foot and a half apart.

"Will, this one's all yours," Jack muttered, gesturing in her direction and uncrossing his legs in the chair. Will gave him a furious glance and Jack motioned. "Go on. Here's the deal. If Will can disarm you, you get sent back. If he loses, unlikely, you can stay. Got it?"

She nodded and breathed, readying her body for the duel. Will sighed, standing and pulling out his epée with a ringing sound. Heather grinned and the two faced off. She, unlike the other girls, actually knew how to fight. Their swords clashed for a good ten minutes and Jack sighed. "Hurry it up, Will."

Will sneered and gave a roundabout swing, flinging her sword into the air. It flew in an arc, landing with a ping in the seat of Jack's chair, right between his legs, making him jump back. The blade had pinned part of his breeches, barely missing him. He breathed loudly, his dark eyes wide.

"Holy Styrofoam!" he exclaimed. "Me life's just flashed before me eyes! Will, you did that on purpose, bloody blacksmith." Jack attempted to pull the sword from the chair and realized that, knowing Will, it was futile. "Great. I'm pinned by me pants to the seat of this chair. I hope you're satisfied."

"Pants that don't point North," Heather giggled. "Fencing pants." Will looked at her incredulously but broke into laughter. Jack grabbed the hilt and tried again to remove the blade in his ... crotch area.

Both Will and Heather were laughing uncontrollably. Barton moved over to Jack and pulled the pirate off the chair, a ripping sound following. Jack stood there, a large rip on the inside of his pant leg. Heather averted her eyes and Jack grumbled. He took the spoon from Barton and handed it to her, clapping a hand on her shoulder. She disappeared.

He kicked Will and Barton out, changing his breeches and tossing the other ones into a scrap pile. A knock came on the door and Barton reentered the room.

"I'll have you know, Jack that the ones I sent back all landed in water," he told him.

"Your point?"

"I controlled it that way so that they wouldn't come back against your orders. The problem lies with the last one. You sent her back and I didn't have a chance to direct her path. She landed in Oregon, no doubt, but as for where, I can't say. That spoon might be capable of bringing her back."

Jack growled. "Why didn't you warn me?"

Barton smiled and shook his head. "I was laughing too hard."

Jack gave him a glare and Barton smiled, leaving the room. Jack sighed and muttered to himself. "So glad everyone thinks Captain Jack Sparrow's little mishaps are so hilarious."

…

Scarlette and her ridiculous future escorts were walking around in the park, tossing stones at ducks and dodging hippies.

"So you need to get back to the past, but you don't have any way of doing so," Sean spoke as if he were trying to clarify the story. Scarlette just nodded, tired of vocally confirming her agitation.

"Won't he come to get you?" Kristin asked. "Logically, I mean? If you stay away for too long, he may come looking for you."

"Maybe," she sighed. "I feel like I'm wasting time, just wandering about. There isn't much I can do but I know it's not as if the solution to my problem is just going to fall into my lap."

Heather landed right on top of Sean, knocking him to the floor. The four of them were so surprised that Scarlette had her sword drawn before she realized it was Heather. Tony fainted dead away and Sean threw her off his back, looking around.

"Who hit me?" he exclaimed. "I'll kill 'em! Who was that? Oh, it's you. Hi, Heather. Where'd you come from?"

"Jack sent me back dammit!" she exclaimed. Then she started laughing hysterically. "You should have seen him, Scarlette. It was the funniest thing in the world! He almost got speared! Hey …" she looked around. "How do you know these guys?"

Scarlette smiled and helped Heather off the ground. "We just met. Where's the piece?"

"What, this?" Heather asked. She held up the spoon Scarlette grabbed it and was about to activate it but Kristin caught her hand.

"You're not going without us, Scarlette," she told her. Scarlette scowled.

"Very well then," she said. "Let's get Tony back to the apartment and stock up on weapons at least."

"What are you guys talking about?" Sean exclaimed. He was looking down at Tony, who had hit the wet grass and soggy dirt rather hard. Scarlette handed the spoon to Kristin and told her not to think about anything. She grabbed the front of Tony's blue sweatshirt and hauled him up; Sean grabbed the back of him, and slowly they got Tony to his feet. Sean draped one arm over his shoulder and dragged his friend towards the apartment.

It took the better part of an hour but they made it, eventually. Once they were there, Scarlette gave him the bucket again and Tony sat up in a shouting fit.

"What the—" he looked at them and slapped his head. "What happened? Was I drunk?"

Sean started laughing uncontrollably as the girls looked at each other. Scarlette gave him a stare, her eyes rimmed in black. "You fainted, ring a bell?"

Tony looked confused, nothing new to him of course. Tony was always confused. No, it wasn't stupidity that made him confused. Mostly it was Sean.

Scarlette explained the situation to them and told them the plan that would take place tonight. They would sneak downtown to the weapons shop down the road and break in. Luckily, Heather knew her way around the store and they could grab everything they needed quickly.

Night fell and soon after, at about nine, the five teens were eating. Scarlette had washed her hair and dried it out the hard way, brushing it out with her fingers. It gave her a wild look, with her darkly rimmed eyes and the holsters still all over her, Jack's coat fitting her a little largely.

It sure is good to be eating junk food again," she commented. "Of course, I may never get the chance to eat it again."

"Well, you can't just leave him," Heather spoke. "You are married and there's Sharon."

"What are you guys talking about?" Tony asked.

"Nothing," Scarlette said quickly.

"Oh, no you don't," Sean cut in. "You've said that too many times now tell us what's going on. You're married, now that much we know, thanks to Heather. Spill."

Scarlette sighed and ignored them but Heather couldn't sit still. "She's married to Jack."

The boys were silent for a minute and then Tony started laughing. "Oh, that's a good one. You expect us to believe that?" The girls looked utterly serious but Scarlette continued eating, ignoring everyone.

"I'm not even going to ask," Sean muttered. "I'd say they're nuts, right Tony?"

"Oh yeah," Tony agreed. "Way nuts. Bonkers. Absolutely crazy."

"You'll see," Kristin told them.

…

Below decks on _the Pearl_, the crew was talking amongst themselves. Laderoc was busy scrubbing the floor, not that it would matter if they were killed in the next few hours. Kursab, one of the larger crew members groaned and punched Dobereiner in the arm. "Why we doin' this? You seen that other ship. If it comes here, were all dead."

"Shut yer yap," Duncan snapped. "It won't do to talk bad 'bout it. If we die, we die. That's the way the hardtack crumbles."

"Damn scurvy dogs," Tearlach exclaimed. "They ain't stoppin' till both Jack and his lass are dead."

"Don't be getting' any ideas," Crimp told him. The rest of the crew nodded. Matelot scowled and spit on the floor, getting a growl from Laderoc. Matelot glared at him and Laderoc stood, giving him eye contact.

"Oye, knock it off," Moises told them, separating the two crewmen. "We shant fight here or at all. That be lashes, it be, if Anamaria sees ya."

"I'd like to give her a go," Quartetto snorted. The men broke into laughter.

"Not I," Crimp added. "She'd hate it if she knew you were talkin' 'bout her."

"Hell, I hate talkin' 'bout her like that," Duncan added. "She's like me sister. We even look alike!" It was true. They both had creamy brown skin and lark dark eyes. One might actually think them related.

"Lucky you," Laderoc grunted, thumbing his large nose and tying his bandana tighter. Quartetto shrugged at Laderoc and Duncan and started laughing.

"You may hate your schnoz, Laderoc, but at least you aren't like this," he pulled off his unkempt wig and the men saw the large scab that covered nearly his whole bald head.

"What happened to you?" Ichiroku asked. He was bald himself, but it was something he chose.

"Scalped by the Lenape," Quartetto answered. "I was in Delaware colony and the damn injuns raided my brother's farm. They tried to scalp me but must not have done it right, or somthin'. How many people can you say you know that survived a scalpin', eh?"

"Hell, you're the first," Matelot agreed pulling on his salt and pepper beard. "I'd like ta have Crimp's hair, though. Look at it!"

Crimp looked up from his work, whittling a spoon or something, and gave an uneasy stare around the deck. His hair, which was down to his shoulders, was a shiny black color, coiled tightly into several springs of hair.

Matelot pulled one of the curls and stretched it until the black shine was taut, then he let it go, the coil springing.

"Do you think we're going to escape?" Duncan asked innocently.

"Who knows," Laderoc grunted, picking up his scrubbing again. "I'm just in it for the money. If Jack wasn't so good, I'd be gone."

"Jack hasn't been with us on a single raid," Kursab pointed out.

Laderoc looked at him. "You know, you're right about that. Still, their ain't no good in mutiny. You saw how much he tried to get his ship back, and that was against Barbossa. He'll annihilate me."

The men continued chatting aimlessly, doing their usual maintenance.

…

Barbossa never saw the other ship. He never looked out that way and his crew didn't tell him for fear of being killed. And so, the mystery ship continued to pace _The Opal's Revenge_, _The Poison Dragon_, and _The Black Pearl_. Nick had completely forgotten about the other ship and so the captain remained less than blissfully uninformed.

He continued to watch _the Pearl _as she sailed towards her destination. Barbossa knew by now where Jack was headed. He was sailing towards Europe, pulling them out of the Caribbean. The clear green waters faded little by little into the deep blue of the Atlantic. The air grew colder as well, though it was still summer. August was the month and the heat was steadily leaving them as they traveled.

Barbossa was angry. Jack pulled a length or two ahead of them each day. _The Pearl_'s crew must have been extremely tired, rowing all the while. Barbossa knew they'd soon grow too tired to do any more, and then he'd have them. It was only a matter of time.

Nick stood beside Barbossa, his long brown hair pulled back and tied with a grey bit of fabric.

They stared on into the distance, barley discerning the dark spires of _the Pearl_'s masts from the dark skyline.

…

Jack was standing completely stoic at the helm, ignoring everyone and everything, steering his ship, his baby so to speak. He did not want to lose this ship to Barbossa or to anyone ever again and that's exactly what would happen if he let them catch up.

There was a noise of feet on the deck but he didn't turn around. He almost shouted when two hands came around and covered his eyes.

They were soft hands, not the rough palms of the men on board and they barely covered the width of his face. Plus, whoever it was behind him was ... lacking in height and endowed in ... well, he could feel a certain part of the female anatomy pressing into his back as the person behind him stood on tiptoe to cover his eyes.

He grabbed the hands around the wrists and felt the sleeves of his own coat. He turned around and pulled Scarlette up to him.

After hugging her tightly against his chest, he put his hands on her shoulders and held her at arms length. "Why are you here, luv?"

She smiled at him mysteriously again. "Why did you send me back? I wasn't dying, Jack. Remember that vest you puzzled over that night I returned? Well, it's actually bulletproof. I tried to tell you but you wouldn't lis—" he put a finger to her lips.

"I don't want you here now. It's too dangerous, luv."

"Jack," she told him pointedly. "I will _not _go back to that time. I can't. If you make me go back, I swear Jack, you'll regret it."

"And I swear equally that if I let you stay here, I'll regret it," he told her. "I don't want to lose you to Barbossa or anyone for that matter, even if that means I have to send you away."

"Holy Badger! It's Johnny Depp!"

Scarlette and Jack turned their heads to find Sean and a limp Tony (again). The girls were standing normally, already having seen the show.

"These two boys gave me lodgings while I was stuck in the future," she explained. "The dead one's name is Tony, the orange one's name is Stupid, or at least, that's how he was introduced to me."

Jack looked at them and then at Heather. "You owe me a pair of pants, luv." Heather started laughing again and Scarlette looked at Jack charily. He caught the look and smiled hesitantly. "I realize that didn't sound very good. I'll explain later. Stupid, take your friend Tony down below. Find Bootstrap and tell him I want you to be shown the ropes, savvy?"

Sean just nodded in shock, Heather tapping him and motioning for him to follow, dragging Tony along.

Jack and Scarlette stood in silence for a while, the tension between them a very tangible thing. The crew could feel it as well, giving both wide berths. She turned and watched him, his profile very beautiful, his pointed nose at a very straight angle, his long eyelashes casting black shadows over his deep brown eyes. He consulted the compass and she noticed that the needle was pointing backwards, south, southwest, well off north.

A hand touched his right shoulder and they both turned to find Anamaria, come to relieve him. She knew where they were going and was happy to steer _the Pearl_. Jack nodded to her and looked at Scarlette she looked back to Anamaria before she followed him.

She trailed after him down the stairs and entered the cabin, sitting comfortably with him at the table. He nodded curtly and poured a chalice full of rum, handing it off to her. She sipped it and watched him carefully.

He was watching her with the same calculated glance, mirroring each other's movements.

"Have you made your decision yet?" he asked her suddenly. She looked at him and her eyes narrowed.

"Maybe," she said. "Not that I'm going to tell you yet. I have a question, though. What was it you said—"

"Barbossa has been tailing us for four days," Jack interrupted. "Followed by _the_ _Dragon _and another ship that seems to have been pacing us. What happened with Mei Lin?"

"She betrayed us," Scarlette answered. "She started telling him about you being still alive so I turned her around. She spoke to me in Japanese and I told Barbossa that she was betraying _him_. She tried arguing but I shot her. He believed me even after I did it and gave me the chance to become his partner."

"Captain Sparrow, eh?" Jack said. "We got that something had happened thanks to Barton but we didn't know exactly what."

Scarlette was vaguely aware that somewhere _she'd _been turned around. She began to ask him a question but he interrupted her again. "Barbossa's going to be very surprised when he sees both of us again," Jack told her. "He thinks you're dead."

She smiled up at Jack. "He kept saying that you and I were so much alike that he was frightened."

Jack smiled, flashing a bit of gold. "I have to say I agree with him for once."

Scarlette stood and moved over to Jack's seat, putting her hands on his shoulders, refusing to be distracted again. "Tell me what you said right before you sent me back."

"What?" he asked. "I don't know what you're going on about, luv."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. I can tell by your face."

Jack's eyes grew wide and he gave a nervous smile. "I didn't say _anything_ really, I mean ... I uh ... I need to have a _bit _more to drink before I repeat myself."

"No," she said, taking away the rum bottle. "You weren't _that _drunk when you said it. Tell me, dammit."

Jack stood suddenly, towering over her. He stepped towards her and she backed up, slightly afraid of the man before her. His face was completely serious and she wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. He put his hand on _her_ shoulders and gave her his eyes.

"Do you realize we are sailing into a battle?" he asked her. "Right now we are being followed by not two ships, but three. There is a French privateer stalking our little parade. I am taking us directly into European waters on purpose."

"Jack!" she exclaimed. "They're going to trap us! That privateer won't be the last! What about the English navy? We're in the middle of the Seven Years War! Norrington has no power outside Port Royal, nor in Spain or France! Portugal will be on the side of the Brits yes, but we're pirates! _The Pearl _is a wanted ship!"

Jack put a finger over her mouth. "I know. I'm counting on Barbossa for our escape."

She gave him a preposterous glance. "What are you talking about?"

He smiled and whispered the plan, the ingenious, well, not really, but workable plan.

"I got it from that privateer," he added. "I'm not saying it's foolproof but it's better than anything he can think of, I assure you. We sail to the continent."

"Ah, not to England," she agreed. "That _would_ be fatal."

"Aye," he smiled, having once again distracted her from her question.

She yawned and shed the coat, pulling off her numerous sheaths and such, piling them on the table. He noticed that the guns had been replaced, as had the knife she'd lost. Her studded belt came off and she stretched, moving towards the bed. She hadn't really slept well in days, being stuck at the nerds' house.

She sat on the bed and Jack followed, never one to pass up an opportune moment, but she pushed him away.

"Jack, I need to sleep, plus, you never answered my question." She could tell by his face that he'd thought she'd forgotten it.

"Oh, it's not that important," he told her, lying beside her. "It was nothing at all, really."

"I hate it when people do that!" she exclaimed, standing up and facing away from him, her arms crossed

"Do what?" he asked, sitting up, his legs dangling off the edge of the bed. "You're angry again. Do what?" He moved up and touched her shoulder. She whirled around and fixed an angry eye on him.

"Say something and when someone doesn't hear quite everything, refuse to repeat it!"

"Oh? I repeated it twice, luv," Jack said. "It's your fault if you didn't pick it up. Besides, any time you mention something from your future place that we don't quite understand, you say 'nevermind'. Like this Seven Years War … I bet we won't be calling it that until it's well and truly over."

"Oh, I could kill you sometimes!" she exclaimed, putting her hands around his throat. He smiled at her and allowed her to 'choke' him. She wasn't really hurting him, He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up against him, surprising her.

"Oh, no," she said, pushing away from him. "Not until you tell me what you said."

Jack grinned. "And who's to stop me, luv?"

She gave him a look and he backed off. "Sorry, sorry. I know, you'll roast me for dinner. I'll behave meself."

"Yeah," Scarlette laughed. "You'd better." She returned to the bed and fell asleep within a few minutes. Once she was out, Jack slid in beside her, as usual and thought about whether she would kill him in the morning or not. He decided that she would probably be fine with it and decided to risk his life yet again. Sleeping with the lions was a good way to end up dead, but only if you were prey.

…

Robin, Lizzy, Elizabeth, Claudia, and Diana landed in the fountain of Embassy Suites in downtown Downey. The security guards didn't know what was going on and the soaked girls were led outside where they were released grudgingly. None of the blood had survived the water, just as Barton had intended.

"Great," Claudia growled. "Now what do we do?"

Lizzy scowled. "Like I know? It's late, though. Look. The moon's already out. My watch is screwed up from the travel."

"Oye, it's you!" a male voice exclaimed. The girls turned to find a pirate standing under the shade of a tree.

"What the—" Diana exclaimed. Then she looked down at herself. Her flesh melted away, her clothing tattered. She looked back up and the pirate stepped forward, the light of the moon painted his real colors. He was a cursed one, just like Diana. Until that point, in the future, Diana's curse hadn't been a factor. Now, with another cursed being before her, her form mirrored his.

"Where did you come from?" Robin asked.

"He must have been one of the ones Barton sent away during the fight," Claudia piped up. "He's still here?"

The pirate lunged out at them without further warning and Diana met him, bringing out her sword. She was certainly not a fighter. They grappled for a while, Diana being the only one who really stood a chance, being immortal.

"Run!" she told the others. "I'll hold him as long as I can! Go ... go to Anita's house or something!"

"It's too far," Robin shouted. "Where else can we go?"

"Not my house," Lizzy exclaimed. "My parents won't let us stay there."

"What about Ryo's old house?" Claudia suggested. "There's no one living there now."

"What's going on here?" Elizabeth cried, clinging to Robin's arm.

The future girls grabbed Elizabeth and scurried towards Scarlette's old dwelling, running in fear, the bright lights of the cars sending them reeling.

…

Scarlette stirred in her sleep and felt him next to her. As always, her movements encouraged him. She found herself pulled tightly against him, her face under his chin, her cheek against the pulsing warmth of his throat.

She blinked awake, forgetting where she was for a moment. A loud noise ripped through the air and _the Pearl _shuddered. She sat up suddenly, Jack moving with her. They both jumped from the bed and slipped into their boots. There was no time for anything but the necessities and soon they were both outside the cabin, running along the deck. Jack climbed up the rigging and glanced around. There was fog all around and Jack couldn't see a thing. Scarlette was leaning over the railing near the two future boys, both of which were drunk again, and was squinting out into the white mists.

A flash in the opaque canvas of miasma drew their attention to the ship it faintly outlined for a split second. It wasn't the Frenchman, but another ship. It was firing on them.

"Dutchman to the portside, leeward!" Gibbs was shouting. "Two masts, Corvette. 20, maybe 30 guns."

Bootstrap's eyes widened and he looked out to sea, his heart in his throat. He spotted the ship and sighed, putting a hand to his sternum to calm himself.

"All free hands on the main brace, portside, rowers stay to duty," Jack bellowed. "She's only firing ranging shots. Don't shoot unless she draws closer!"

He rushed to the helm and Scarlette followed. She stood with him as he threw the wheel in the direction he wished, the ship taking a slightly different path, heading more to starboard.

The Dutch ship fired again, narrowly missing _the Pearl_'s hull. The water splashed up and hit a few rigging boys in the face.

Another blast of cannons, though not from the Dutchman. These cannons were fired _at_ the Dutch flyer, though the owner of these shots was invisible at the moment.

(This is NOT _The Flying Dutchman_, folks. This is a Dutch ship, as in from Holland.)

Jack scanned the foggy landscape, or waterscape if you will, for ships but after the Dutchman ceased to fire, there weren't any other surprises. Barton and Bell were under wraps, even though the sun didn't seem to filter through to this secluded scene of smog.

She moved up beside him and looked up at him, her eyes large. The unspoken fear of the hidden enemies around them was reflected in her eyes, made brighter by the white background surrounding them.

He gave her a slight smile, a tiny condolence in the land of fog and mist, something to hold one over. It was terrifying, moving through the almost tangible water drops, as if they were sailing through cotton wisps, or spun sugar.

Jack pulled out his spyglass to survey the area and almost choked on what he saw to his port side. He swallowed, Scarlette giving him a suspicious look. He ignored her and rubbed the lens of his spyglass, rubbing his eyes as well. He brought it back up to his face and breathed in shortly, scrutinizing the objects he saw through the spyglass.

"We may be in over our heads this time, luv," he whispered to her.

…

OPTIONS SUBTITLES ENGLISH

The captaine snapped his spyglass shut and spoke to his first mate. "It is a three masted ship, no colors, the sails black. What do you know about it?"

His first mate shrugged. "Sorry, sir. I do not know much but given your description, the only ship I can think of would be _The Black Pearl_."

The captaine gave him a stare. "Do not speak of that ship, man. It is bad luck to be speaking of cursed ships with us mired in this fog. What was that fire earlier on?"

"A Dutchman was off to them, sir," the man answered. "One of ours took it down. What about the black sailed ship sir?"

"We will let her sail a bit longer," the captaine answered. "We don't yet know what she is. She is moving incredibly fast, however. Guillame said he had paced them for days only by dumping out their liberties. There are two ships following that ship, both with English flags, the second with an Eastern brand as well."

"What are we to do?"

"We do not know if the black ship is running from them or leading them. Once they reach port, I suppose we will find out."

"Aye, captaine," the man said. "What is the order until further notice?"

The captaine glanced at his first mate. "Wait for her to strike her colors, or for an attack. If the ones behind her attack the black ship, we will know for sure. With her speed, we dare not attack the English ships if she is with them."

"Aye, captaine," the man said.

OPTIONS SUBTITLES NONE

…

Robin, Lizzy, and Elizabeth were sitting in Lizzy's house the day after, Elizabeth very uncomfortable in modern clothing. She was still wearing her corset because, one; there weren't any bras in the house that fit her, two; it was the only thing that could be worn and not draw attention to her.

She was wearing one of Robin's 'Yamo' shirts and Lizzy's slacks, two white lines running down the legs. Her hair was pulled back simply with one scrunchy and purple socks with a little green dog on them that shouted "Tacos!"

Robin was searching for something on the computer, not sure what. She'd had a feeling about something and had to check, just to make sure.

"1759, 1759, where is it?" she exclaimed. "I know it's here, dammit! Ah ha!" She pointed emphatically at the screen, scrolling down a bit. "I knew this was here! I remember it when I was looking for pictures." She scanned and read aloud. "Privateers; ships that were given 'Letters of Marque' which enabled them to shoot down any ship bearing an enemy flag. Barbossa has been flying the privateer's flag! The navy won't touch him! They think he's a privateer, and as for _the Dragon_, did you notice it had one as well? No matter how many English ships catch sight of them, they won't fire unless the 'roger' is being flown!"

"I could have told you that," Elizabeth commented, sipping her drink. "What's this called again? It's superb!"

"Frappuccino," Lizzy told her. "Vanilla, of course."

"Well, Mrs. Smarty Pants," Robin said sarcastically. "Did it occur to you that they're sailing into hell? As soon as they get in English waters, they'll be bombarded!"

"Who says they have to go that way?" Lizzy pointed out. "They could be rounding the states."

"They're headed for Europe, I tell you," Robin told them. "There's nowhere else to go in that direction unless they're just doing it to avoiding currents."

"We don't know that for sure," Lizzy told her. "Besides, this is the years of the Hanover kings. It's between George II and III … which means the French and Indian war. Those waters will be thick with the French as well as English, and they _will_ fire on British privateers."

"Whatever," Robin said, standing from the console. She disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a banana. "It doesn't look too good, if you ask me. I don't want to be pessimistic, but how are they going to get out of it?"

« _Je ne sais pas_, » Lizzy said in French, shrugging.

…

Dante was pacing the deck. He'd tried now several times to tell Barbossa how much of a madman Tavington was but the damn vamp wouldn't listen. Tavington had clawed a hole in one of the cabin walls with his bare hands, all the while whispering something repeatedly. Dante never tried to get close enough to hear what Tavington was saying. He had been terrified out of his wits.

The most frightening thing was Tavington was asleep as these things were going on. When he was awake, he was devoid of this madness, except for certain instances where his eyes darted perilously close to insanity and his movements quickened to the point of twitching.

Dante wanted to be rid of Tavington but he wasn't sure how to do it without getting him killed. He had been very angry at the news of Mei Lin's death and blamed himself partly for it. He was waiting for night to fall so he might speak to Barbossa. They had almost lost _the Pearl _several times in the fog, finding her again when the Dutch ship began firing but loosing her once the Dutch had been subdued.

Dante had seen the mystery ship only once, recognizing the French flag but missing the significance. He just assumed it was another ship they'd get around to attacking later.

"Come on, night. Hurry up and come. I can't stand this anymore!" Dante continued pacing, the sea coming up to spray his face momentarily as he traced his worried path about the planks of the ship. He wiped the salt water from his eyes and glanced out to sea again, catching sight of a black stern, vanishing once again into the miasma.

"Damn, Jack," Dante hissed. "And damn his woman, too."

…

Jack gave one last glance through his scope. It was too misty to be sure. He couldn't tell what he was looking at. He was bout to move fore to bow to get a better look when Scarlette grabbed his arm. "What's wrong?"

She sounded so stern he turned to look at her. She'd been watching him carefully as he scrutinized the image through his spyglass and had waited patiently for him to enlighten her.

"Three, maybe more," he told her. "Man o' War."

She looked slightly confused. "The big ones, eh?"

Jack just looked at her with his dark eyes and she shivered. "We're screwed aren't we?"

He turned back to the ships, looking through the glass. "At least five now. No flags present. We'll need to rely on our speed."

"Jack," she began. "How close are we?" She moved up to stand beside him, squinting into the mist.

He handed the spyglass to her. "Nowhere near to where we need to be." She looked into it, moving it until she saw the figurehead of one of the great ships. There were five in sight and the shadows of more masts stood in the background, silent giants, standing sentry over the lonely decks.

She shivered again, trying not to let her fear show. She bit her lip in concentration, letting him slide the scope out of her hands, which she was trying desperately to keep from shaking.

Jack noticed this but didn't mention it. If he tried to send her away, she might just be stubborn enough to do something, like fight, which he adamantly was opposed to her doing. They most likely wouldn't get the chance to do any fighting up against the monsters in front of them. They would be sunk before the other crew could board.

Jack glanced at Scarlette and back at the invisible ships all around them and decided what he wanted to do. Fighting the giants was futile, but he could always pick on someone his own size.

He touched the worn wood of the helm, rubbing one rough hand over the notches and nicks in the timber. He looked up, his gaze out to sea and Scarlette shivered again. It was the look of a desperate Jack, someone she didn't know very well. He shouted an order and turned the helm hard to port. _The Pearl _began to revolve.

He looked over at Scarlette and nodded, holding out his left hand. She came forward and grabbed it in both hers.

"Well, luv," he said to her, meeting her eyes. "This may be it for us, you know."

She just stared up at him. "There must be some way."

"Must there?" he asked. "Not all problems are solvable. We may be gobbled up by those ships there, but I want to take ol' Barbie down with me, savvy?"

She smiled, a mirror of her usual grin. "Definitely, but first ... what was it you said before you sent me back? Come on, Jack. Tell me, please."

He looked down at her. "Not a good idea, luv."

"Come on! We might die in a matter of minutes and you're still holding out on me."

"If we live through this," he told her. "I swear on pain of death, I'll repeat what I said to your bonny ears as much as you want, savvy?"

She held out her right hand. "Fair enough, I suppose." He took her hand in his right, the leather of his palm rag, sliding across hers as they shook on it.

They both stared ahead towards the direction Barbossa had last been glimpsed, their eyes almost identical in expression.

"They could be French, you know," she whispered.

"There's no way to tell if they're the same ships," Jack answered. "They're big. England has the largest naval force seen in years. If we open fire on Barbossa with his privateer flag, they'll chew us to bits."

"But they could be _French_," she insisted. "If English ships that big had come up on those frogs we saw earlier, then we would have heard something. If they were English, they would have fired on us already. This is a known ship."

Jack squeezed her hand. "I have to be sure, luv."

She looked at him stubbornly. "You know the British win the Seven Years War, right?"

"Why am I not surprised?" Jack replied shaking his head.

…

Yikes. Kinda suspenseful. Like I've been telling people around, the blanket category for this fic is Action/Adventure but there is a splashing of everything else, humor, romance, drama, suspense, mystery, etc ... Jack (not the pirate, card, skeleton, pumpkin, car tool, monkey, knife, rabbit or child's toy) of all trades, master of none. Sounds like the author. Page count. Ladies and Gentlemen, with the last two additions, we are at ... 417, with glossary ... 434. The names of the crew members are what appear on the credits. My made up crew for Jack consists of Armstrong, Stevenson, Nathaniel, Schaeffer and Dobereiner. There were two others that died. Finished at 1:34 AM on Orlando Bloom's birthday. Happy 27, Elf Boy. (he's 27 right? 1-13-04)

**Revisited 1-20-07 No, now he's 30 … it's been a long time. Pg count 607**


	22. Chapter XXI : Ring of Fire

Really bad eggs. Yep ... um ... pants!

**Chapter XXI—Ring of Fire **

Elizabeth was sitting on Lizzy's sister's bed with the headphones pulled tightly against her head. She had her eyes closed and was making small noises.

"She's gonna need new batteries soon," Robin muttered from her place on the floor. "Why did you have to put _that _CD in? Why the soundtrack, for crying out loud? Of course she fell in love with it! You'll never get it back, you know."

"I wanted to hear it," Lizzy answered. "I didn't expect her to freak out."

"She was in the movie, Liz!"

"Not really," she argued.

They continued to chat and Robin laughed when Elizabeth jumped, tearing the headphones away from her ears.

"She must have run out of batteries," Robin laughed as Elizabeth started babbling.

"It squeaked at me! What sort of creature is that?"

"It beeps when it needs power," Lizzy explained, popping the old Duracells out and sliding two new ones into place. She handed the player back to Elizabeth and Mrs. Turner began to listen to the soundtrack for _Pirates of the Caribbean; Curse of the Black Pearl _for the eighth time.

The dog began barking, meaning someone was at the door. Lizzy started to stand but her cat jumped from the bed, running in an erratic pattern, causing her to trip. The front door opened and the dog ceased to bray. Footsteps were heard in the hallway and before anyone could do anything, Andrew, Lizzy's older brother entered the room. He often popped in to see who was with Lizzy.

He took one look around the room, his gaze landing on Elizabeth, who, like Jack, was an exact picture of the star in the movie. What Andrew was seeing wasn't Elizabeth Swann, but Keira Knightley, given the clothing she wore.

"You!" he exclaimed before he hit the floor. He knocked his head against the doorjamb as he fainted and the dog came by, curiously sniffing his ear. The cat walked over him as he reentered the room. Cats often did.

"Come here, Darwin," Lizzy said softly, picking up her thirteen pound cat and placing him on the upper bunk.

"Help me drag him, Robin," Lizzy exclaimed. "He's too fat!"

"I'm not touching your brother," Robin snorted. "He has cooties, probably. He's 22 and he still lives at home. What a loser."

"I can't leave him in the hallway, come on!" Lizzy grabbed her brother's feet and Robin, sighing in resignation, got up from her place on the floor and grabbed him around the wrists. They dragged him, bumping him into walls and making the picture frames on the wall fall crooked. Eventually they hoisted him onto his bed and came back to the room, panting. Elizabeth had missed the exchange, immersed in Track 04 (Will and Elizabeth).

Robin picked up one of the pillows on the bed and smacked Elizabeth with it. "Damn you and your gorgeous looks!"

Elizabeth looked shocked, not accustomed to such behavior. Robin grinned and hit her again, knocking the headphones from her head.

"Come on! Let's go!" Robin coaxed, swinging her pillow around. Elizabeth gave one of those poison glances and seized her own pillow. She flew at Robin and the two women commenced to bashing each other. Lizzy just watched, laughing at the absurdity of it. Robin was pillow fighting with Elizabeth!

The fight moved from pillows to other objects such as shoes, clothes, and even two old Barbie dolls Lizzy had kept in a drawer. Eventually, Robin was chasing Elizabeth throughout the house, both of them laughing hysterically. They ended up outside, Elizabeth holding an apple, and Robin, a banana, laughing too hard to stand, their faces flushed and hair disheveled.

Lizzy came walking out, smiling. The door swung shut behind her and the three of them breathed for a few minutes, trying to get over the funniness. Lizzy moved back to open the door, turning the knob and finding it stuck. The door had swung shut, locking them out.

Lizzy shrugged and circled around the front of the house, trying the front door. It was locked as well.

"It's all right," Lizzy told them. "Drew'll let us in."

"Um, Liz," Robin pointed out. "Drew is unconscious, remember."

"Oh, shit!" Lizzy exclaimed, slapping her forehead. "Damn, damn, darn it!"

…

Barbossa stepped from his cabin and sniffed the air. They were in populated waters for certain. He could smell the men.

He was highly surprised when _the Pearl_'s bowsprit loomed out of the fog, moving towards them instead of away. He began shouting orders to his crew, telling them when and what to do, always specific. Nick came to stand beside him and he nodded to Barbossa.

"We're about to face off," Barbossa told him. "Can you do what needs to be done?"

"I won't kill any face I know," Nick told him.

"And what about your sister?"

'_She's dead,_' he thought. Aloud, he spoke. "What would you have me do? I thought _you_ wanted her."

"Aye, save her for my blade. And what then boy, if you're attacked by say ... Jack or Will?"

Nick was silent for a moment. "I won't attack them. I'll move away from them. If they attack me, I'll go behind the lines or get into the cabin. I'll think of something. They'll kill me in an all out fight."

Barbossa stared into _the Pearl_'s shadow and the first cannon fire shredded the calm air.

The deck of _The Opal's Revenge _shuddered and Barbossa started shouting again. The guns were being manned but the angle was off. Barbossa looked about out for _the Dragon_, which was but a shouting distance away. The larger ship closed in and the three ships converged on each other. The cannons exploded but _the Pearl _was at _the Opal's _bow, not in line to be properly shot, as Barbossa saw it. _The Dragon _rounded and began firing into _the Pearl_'s bow.

A chain shot tore from _the Pearl _and shredded one of _the Dragon_'s masts, the long beam falling to the side, tipping the ship slightly, the base of the mast still held to the deck by yards of rope and the last frayed edges of splintered wood. The ship would be fine once that was cut away however, having three other masts.

Barbossa smiled to himself, watching as _the Dragon _fired away. _The Pearl _moved a bit, her stern in line of Mallot's swivel cannon. The pirate fired, blowing away _the Pearl_'s rudder.

…

Jack looked around, his eyes wide. He was turning the helm but the ship wasn't yielding to his manipulation. Scarlette was looking over at the attacking ships and didn't know what was going on.

"Armstrong," Jack commanded. The sailor answered. "Go check the rudder chain. I might have broken it."

Armstrong disappeared and returned a minute later. "Sir, the rudder chain is fine. That's not the problem. The thing is, there's no rudder to turn. It's been shot by cannon and there's hardly a splinter left."

Jack growled and ran to the bulwarks, looking over at _The Opal's Revenge_. Barbossa stood on the deck with his arms crossed smugly. He watched Barbossa give the order for _the Opal_'s crew to prepare for boarding.

Jack saw this and knew what would happen. Barbossa would have his English crew board and the China crew fire. Jack turned and shouted to his crew.

"All gunmen on the port side," he exclaimed. "Shoot _the Dragon_. Everyone else on deck! We're being invaded!"

Barbossa continued to smile at him as the gangplanks and grapples were installed. Jack watched in anger. Barbossa wasn't going to come onto _the Pearl _until Jack was well engaged and then, it might be too late. Suddenly, Barbossa's face changed to one of confusion and Jack felt someone at his elbow. He turned to find Scarlette standing beside him. She had put one of Jack's shirts over the "Got Rum?" shirt and had given him his coat back.

Barbossa was staring at her incredulously, looking back and forth between the two of them. He scowled and gave incoherent orders to his men, who began to board _the Pearl_.

…

"What did I ever do to be cursed with those two?" Barbossa exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "Those Sparrows! They never die! And now there's another one! I just might have to get rid of the kid as well!"

Nick looked over incredulously at Barbossa. "What do you mean? You said you were just going to kill Ryoko."

Barbossa nodded. "I am." This time, anyway, or maybe, I'll just ... kill them all, stupid kid.

…

Will and Heather, cutlasses and short swords strapped to their person, raced up the stairs to emerge on the deck.

"Shoot to kill!" Jack was saying aloud. "Their cursed pirates have been diminished. If they don't go down, take a head shot; they may be wearing armor."

"Armor?" Heather said in question.

"Kevlar," Scarlette told her. "When Barton and Belle were on their side, they smuggled quite a bit of both the vests and guns."

"Repel boarders," Jack shouted. "Load swivels if you haven't already."

Will looked at Heather and shrugged. "Here we go."

"Good luck," she told him and he nodded. They ran out to meet the invading men.

Gunshots exploded all around, the already fog filled air becoming even more dense with gun smoke. The ropes above them creaked as men swung onto the deck. Scratch landed near Heather, his dirty yellow hair swinging with his impact and she pulled out her cutlass. He grinned dirtily at her and pulled his own out.

She swung out at him, moving as quickly as her mentor back in Oregon had taught her, her left arm crooked behind her head to keep energy in reserve. Their swords clashed, music to her ears, but Scratch pulled out his pistol unexpectedly and grinned grimily at her, cocking the dog head back with a click. There was an explosion.

Heather gasped, her eyes very large as the shot rang out. The smoke cleared and Scratch was left staring at Nathaniel, the ships main gunner, who was manning a nearby swivel. Nathaniel holstered his pistol and Scratch dropped to the deck, dead.

"Thanks," Heather told him.

"No problem," Nathaniel told her. "I always wanted to kill that bastard."

Heather smiled and moved on to a short little man with slimy gray hair held back from his face by a yellow bandana. She slashed a line across his torso and he cried out, moving away from her. She looked around and ran up to the cabin railing to help Armstrong who was being bombarded on both sides by men.

Will was slashing and shooting, slashing, shooting, his bullets hitting their marks and his blade parrying and attacking with precision. He felt something wrap around his neck and pull him backwards. He fell to the deck, landing painfully on his tailbone as the metal hook the man had used to knock him down scraped his neck. He looked up backwards at the man, his eyes wide as Grapple swung downwards with the instrument in his hand. A sword slashed the air, slicing open the man's shoulder, the blood raining down on Will. He sat up and Anamaria, his savior, pulled him up the rest of the way before Grapple could retaliate. Will threatened him with the sword and Grapple grimaced, moving off.

Will and Anamaria exchanged glances and rushed out into the fray.

Barbossa watched all this and shouted to his men. "Dog Rab! Mallot, Scarub, Ketchum! Don't be runnin' from 'em. Cut 'em down, ya bloomin' cockroaches! Simbakka! What's wrong with you, man? Batten down the hatches, ya feckless pack of ingrates!"

Crimp, one of Jack's crewmen, aimed carefully, and his bullet tore into Barbossa's shoulder. Barbossa turned to Crimp and smiled, aiming and shooting. Crimp fell to the deck, his head blasted in by a hollow tip that Barbossa had begun favoring. In like a penny, out like a pizza, only … Crimp's head wasn't big enough for the pizza.

Below, there was fear and blood, all washing over the decks as if one. Laderoc looked out the cannon port, touched the spark to the primer and the twenty-four pounder exploded, sending his ball into the ship beside them.

The ball ripped through _the Dragon_'s hull and suddenly, one of the crewmen's arm was broken at an impossible angle, the bone sticking out in several shards, the blood running in rivulets down the pale but dirty skin. It would definitely need to be amputated, assuming he lived long enough for there to be a need.

Another of his crew touched their spark to the primer and another blast followed, shearing off a chunk of one of Jack's men. Duncan loaded a sack of sangrenel and fired at the deck of _the Dragon_. The twisted scraps of iron ripped through three men, creating gruesome wounds that would inevitably kill their victims.

The lower decks of both ships were like two of the lower circles of hell. There was so much firing going on that one could not hear their own shouts or thoughts and the adrenalin was so high that pain was all washed away of even the worst cases of wounding. One of the Chinese crewmen was missing his right hand and was either in profound shock, or didn't notice.

Will was on _the Pearl_'s deck, slicing and shooting whenever he could. He caught sight of Barbossa, who was striding unhindered towards a distracted Jack and he was horrified. He pulled his hatchet out of his last victim and threw it with a ferocity reserved for last stands. The blade buried itself in Barbossa's back. He fell over in front of Jack and the savvy captain jumped back from his current opponent, watching the devil at his feet. Barbossa stood up and groaned, attempting to reach the hatchet in his back. His crew member yanked it out for him and Barbossa rounded on Jack.

The other crewman went to help but was stopped by Scarlette. She held her weapon out, a cutlass that looked very large compared to her. He laughed dirtily and flourished towards her with his short sword.

They began to trade blows and Will was almost annihilated in his distraction of watching them. He quickly turned to his foe, a tall dark man with the dirtiest hair he'd ever seen or smelled for that matter in his life.

Scarlette wasn't faring nearly as well. Jack had taught her quite a bit about fighting, but there was still the ratio issue. She was very small and the man she was fighting, a man by name of Maximo, was not. His gender enabled him to have muscles much more efficient than hers and it was not an easy fight. They locked blades, their faces inches apart.

"When we be clear of dis mess," he spat in her face. "I'm gonna 'ave a bit o' fun wit'you and yer friends."

"Over my dead body," she snapped, shoving him off.

"Dat cin be arranged, bitch," he snarled jumping at her. He disarmed her in a matter of seconds, holding his blade out against her cheek, cutting a thin line down her face. She was backed up against the mizzenmast and was pinned. She moved her head away from the blade and he took out a dagger and speared her, or really, Jack's shirt to the mast. He grinned nastily and stepped into her, invading her personal space. She heard a cry that seemed completely out of place.

"Geronimo!" Maximo was hit from behind, his head wobbling. His hat fell off and Scarlette grabbed the dagger and wrenched it from the wood, dropping it straight. It embedded itself in his back, sticking out at a remarkable angle. Her saviors, Tony and Sean stepped up with smiles.

"We saved your life!" Tony exclaimed.

"Yeah, now you have to pay us," Sean laughed.

She looked over and was about to make some comment but her eyes grew wide. She pulled out her gun and fired. They jumped, thinking she was firing at them. A man by name of Scarub fell to the deck, the hammer he held clattering to the wooden slats noisily.

"I trust the debt is paid," she said. "I just saved _you_."

They nodded and the three of them met the newest wave of men pouring in from _The Opal's Revenge_. The boys had acquired spears from below and were joining the fray.

Kristin was shivering against the captain's quarter door, finding it locked, or at least unyielding. She was looking around angrily, looking for any weapon that could possibly be used to fight. All her weapons had been stripped away, her gun empty. She spotted the bow of a violin, something she was very familiar with. How it got onto the deck was beyond her but she picked it up and tutted at the malnutrition. "This hasn't been touched with rosin in years, I bet!" She swung it to test and banged it over a man's head, laughing uncharacteristically when he fell to the deck unconscious.

Kristin grabbed the dirty pirate and rolled him over, disarming him. She held his gun in an iron grip began firing, missing half the time. She was picking off men she knew weren't in Jack's crew. The man at her feet moved as if to get up and she kicked him. He slumped down again. She could have just shot him, but she was a little queasy about blowing something away that close to her. She did not want to stand there with his brains all over the deck in her line of sight.

Jack was backed up against the gunwales again, trading blows with Barbossa, their swords clanging loudly, heard even over the continuous cannon fire around them. The smoke was thick enough that they were reduced to about ten-foot visibility, the fog growing ever denser as the night progressed.

"Dammit, Jack!" Barbossa exclaimed as they continued to fight, no one getting any closer to killing the other. "I don't know which of you I hate more, you, or your female facsimile."

Jack gave him an ironic smirk. "Funny ol' world, isn't it?"

Barbossa gave him a look of confusion as Jack parried another slash. Jack ducked under a particularly virulent swing and Barbossa snarled at him.

"My death leads to her, and likewise. You can't get rid of one without the other bearing down on you."

"Another funny thing," Barbossa growled. "She's supposed to be end, but she wouldn't be here had it not been for me. Do you owe me that much? Here, there are two too many of you."

"Ironic that it took some odd death spell with blood undone and ancient gold to bring your two worst antagonists together, eh?" Jack grinned rakishly and swung out at Barbossa.

"Shut up, Jack," Barbossa growled. "Stop trying to use big words on me."

"What's the matter, Barbie?" Jack laughed. "Is my vocabulary too copious for your immortal and perpetually iniquitous mind?" Jack smiled but his eyes grew large as something jumped onto Barbossa's hat. It crawled to the brim of the hat, its spindly legs waving at him like a terrifying challenge.

Barbossa looked straight up, his hepatitis-Z eyes finding the creature that had launched itself to his hat. Jack was frozen stiff. The tarantula had returned.

"Kill it!" Jack exclaimed, swiping at Barbossa's hat, slicing the feather off, the scattered debris sticking to the spiky hairs on the large arachnid.

Barbossa sighed and walked calmly towards Jack, pulling out his pistol. Jack's eyes were glued to the tarantula, which continued to wave maniacally at him. Barbossa pulled the trigger; the shot rang out, the bluish smoke rising from both the bullet hole on Jack's chest and the muzzle of the gun.

There seemed to be a silence in which Scarlette gasped. One of _the Pearl_'s cannons, muffled by the shocking sight before her, seemed to speak, the echo of the boom forming incoherent words. She watched as Jack looked down at himself in horror, the smoking hole very dark against his white shirt.

Scarlette broke from her trance and ran over, kicking the tarantula over board with a flinging toe, the spider falling to the sharks. They might not eat the arachnid, but something certainly would, eventually. Tarantulas don't swim. Jack was on his knees, still coming up to her chin. She screamed at Barbossa, and the smug bastard backed away, waiting until she was finished.

"Jack!" she exclaimed, taking his face in her hands. He put his hands over her wrists and held her hands there.

"Did you get rid of that demon?"

"Barbossa or the spider?"

"Spider."

"Yes, Jack, don't speak! You're ... you've been shot."

Jack kept his face neutral. He began to speak in French, his accent very rough and his grammar childlike, but understandable.

« _Je n'aller pas morte_, » he whispered, unconjugated verbs getting the point across. « _Je porte ton _... eh, _le _... what's the word ... Kilver ? »

"Oh!" she exclaimed, hugging him around the neck, surprising him thoroughly. He gasped as if in pain. This put his face at her shoulder. He got very close to her ear and whispered to her, the cannon fire masking their conversation, even from Barbossa's keen ears.

"Distract him, luv," he told her. "He thinks me dead again. Fight him, get him facin' the other way, savvy? Act this out, make sure I'm 'dead'."

She nodded and choked. He shut his eyes and she leaned him back to the deck, touching her forehead to his for Barbossa's benefit. She then stood and slowly turned to the vamp behind her.

Barbossa took in her angry face and the limp Jack all in a nonchalant expression. He walked over and aimed his pistol, not at Scarlette but at Jack's head. "Gotta make sure this wretch is finally dead."

"No!" she exclaimed, pushing Barbossa out of the way and dropping to shield Jack, acting her little heart out. "You can't shoot him again! You can't shoot him in the head! You'll defile his face! Haven't you done enough?"

Barbossa grabbed her by the hair and yanked her off Jack, flinching at her screech of pain. He aimed again but something tore into his shoulder. The fabric on his shoulder burst into flames, burning gold and blue in the misty night. He took off his hat, stamped out the flames and heard someone clear their throat. He turned to find Barton.

"You," Barbossa growled. "Mutinous bastard."

"Now if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black, Captain," Barton told him. He lashed out with power, sending Barbossa back against the mizzenmast. Barbossa growled as his clothing caught fire and yanked in a different direction with his hand, bringing one of the girls to him. Kristin screamed as Barbossa grabbed her frail wrist, using it as leverage. He grasped her last gun, aimed, and fired at Barton. The bullet hit Barton in the chest and the elder fell to the deck, still alive, or as alive as a vampire can get. Barbossa was on him in a flash, gripping his throat in a dirty hand.

"You never did tell me why you brought me back," Barbossa hissed in his face, his breath putrid. The flames had been extinguished with his master's body, smothering their orange flair.

Barton growled back, power sinking into every decibel of his voice. "I was bored."

Barbossa sneered. "High price for boredom." He struck with lightening quick speed, sinking teeth into his maker's throat.

Scarlette got up and ran over with her sword to get him while he was distracted, not caring that it was foul play. She'd do anything to kill Barbossa. As she was swinging the cutlass in a downward arc, aimed at the back of his neck, he drained the elder and dematerialized before her very eyes.

Heather was knocked backwards, as was Kristin, Sean, and Tony, all being hit by the flash. Barton had just been killed, their ticket back home. Scarlette was not affected, but no one noticed this. She was searching around in vain for her adversary when a blur of dark caught her eye on the mast above her. Barbossa was standing atop the main mast, grinning at her. "Come up and dance, lass, if you think you've got the strength for it."

She scowled up at him.

"You should know by now, Barbossa, that I've got the strength to hit any of the curve balls you throw me."

"Whatever that means," Barbossa shouted. Scarlette did not sheath her sword for fear of treachery but held it in her right hand as she climbed, gripping both the rigging and the handle. The spider-web like rigging swung as she climbed, bouncing her body back and forth. She noticed long gouge marks in the wood and realized Barbossa had clawed his way up the mast.

He was standing on the outer portion of the mainsail's crossbeam as she hoisted herself up. He waited until she'd stood up fully, her left hand resting on the mast for balance. She was adamantly not looking down at the deck, knowing full well she'd probably plummet with the slightest nudge if she did. The yardarm was wide enough for her tiny feet, but the ship was moving.

"Well, don't stand there shakin' girl," Barbossa growled, moving towards her, balancing as if he were on level ground. He swung his sword and she ducked, the blade biting into the thick mast with a smack, tearing bits of wood out with it as he brought it back.

"Ye be playin' chicken now, eh?"

"Never," she said quietly, swallowing her real thoughts. She knotted her brows and held out her cutlass in a challenging grip. He grinned and slashed at her, their weapons hitting each other with a clang. She stepped towards him, letting go of the mast and wobbling but steady enough. Her small feet didn't even cover the width of the beam.

He continued whittling the air around her, making her hair move with each of his strikes. She had no time to attack between parrying and concentrating on not falling. He struck again and her sword shattered, the steel shards raining down on a man climbing up the rigging below. Little did she know, it was her own brother.

Nick continued to climb, sitting on the crow's-nest and watching the fight. Barbossa was smiling wickedly and pointing his saber at her midsection. "You shant come back once I'm through with ye this time, lass. Neither you nor Jack will challenge me again."

"You'll be disappointed," she told him. "If we won't, who else will?" She was looking frantically down at the deck, finding everyone occupied. No one was going to save her. Jack was sitting on the deck, a horrified look on his face. He moved to stand and she shook her head slightly. '_Don't get killed_,' they thought at each other. She looked up just in time to see Barbossa reach.

Barbossa grabbed her by the throat and lifted her above him. "I think you should have considered my offer, lass."

She was scrambling, trying to get a grip on his fingers to loosen his vice like clutch. One of her hands caught on the necklace and the rings on the chain fell against his skin. He was burned by them, the skull ring searing into his flesh. The ring actually blazed with a flame for a mere second but it was enough for Barbossa to drop Scarlette to the beam where she grasped her broken blade immediately and swung at his legs, the jagged steel cutting the cloth of his breeches. She pulled herself up and held the remnants of the sword in front of her.

He shook his hand, a large welt already beginning to show on the back of it. He looked at her and smiled, invigorated by his new power. He pulled out his own blade again.

"Lass, this is a mistake," he told her. "I just gained over a thousand years of power and you're challenging me. It must be love. I killed your husband yet again."

"Whether it is or not is none of your business," she growled. "I am challenging you because it's what I feel like doing. Maybe it's for Jack, maybe for me, maybe even for Barton, but you'll never know, will you?" She moved quickly, thrusting with her broken sword. Jack was standing below and waving at them. He began to climb the rigging. She wasn't going to win this fight.

Nick was smiling. "Stupid bitch," he said to himself. "She'll finally get what she deserves. I'm the better child anyway. I deserve to live and she, to die. That's what she gets for being the black sheep."

Scarlette was amazed at Barbossa's strength. It took all her concentration just to keep the broken cutlass in her hand. She was getting cut up badly and she knew, somewhere, she was bleeding profusely, but everything was distant. Had she known that Barbossa was tampering with her mind, making her slow, she would have turned her concentration to shielding, but his strength was wearing her down, as well as his mind tricks.

She gave one feeble stab forward and he let her impale him on what was left of her blade, knowing it wouldn't do much to him. It kept her still. He smiled down at her.

"Shit!" Nick exclaimed, pulling out his cutlass. He slid to the crossbeam, coming up behind her. He stabbed her through, his blade protruding from her stomach. She gasped and blood bubbled up from her mouth as she stared up in shock at Barbossa. The captain grinned and added his own blade to her body. His blood leaked out, running down her blade to her hand. With her last fiber of energy, she pulled out her pistol and shot Barbossa in the chest, silver shot. He screamed in pain, falling the long way to the deck below. Jack, seeing this, ignored the vampire and continued climbing. He shouted to Will as he watched Scarlette stagger along the beam. Nick had swung over to the mizzen mast and was watching from his perch there.

Will looked up at Jack's shout. He gasped and saw Scarlette teetering, on the verge of falling to the deck herself, Barbossa's blade still in her abdomen. He saw Jack about a league from reaching the top and knew it would be close. He cocked his arm and let the sword fly, the blade zooming through the air to embed itself in the mast a few feet from Scarlette. She was looking around with open eyes, not quite understanding. Jack grabbed one of the jib lines and hauled himself up the rest of the way, hooking an arm around her waist to keep her from falling to her death, not that she wasn't already dying from her several wounds. He grabbed the handle of Will's sword, knowing if she collapsed, they would both go down without it. As usual, Will's sword didn't even budge.

"Jack! He's not dead yet!"

"Hush, woman," Jack said quickly, moving back towards the rigging. "Hang onto me, luv. Don't you dare let go." He shimmied down the rigging with her clinging to him like a koala. She was bleeding badly now that the swords had been removed and her arms had been sliced horribly.

Barbossa gave a roar and moved towards them to finish the game. Will, ever knowing his duty, took one of many unoccupied swords and repeated his trick, the blade once again entering Barbossa to no avail accept to annoy him. Barbossa turned and started towards Will.

A cannon erupted from one of the ships and flew at an almost perfect line, hitting Barbossa in the stomach. He bowed over for a moment but straightened up, laughing maniacally, his stomach a great red hole that closed like a mouth and resealed. Will looked horrified but stood his ground, a trickle of sweat falling past his left eye. If a cannonball couldn't hurt this guy, what chance in hell did he have?

Barbossa lunged, shouting, "Arr!" Will slashed again and again but Barbossa was quickly jumping and lunging, not giving Will the chance to hit him. Will hadn't realized he had been retreating until he found himself against the bulkhead, about to topple over the figurehead into the sea. Barbossa lunged, pressed his arm over Will's throat. He suddenly made a whispering sound, his eyes bulging wide. He slumped and fell to the deck, his head toppling from his neck and rolling a few feet, blood painting the decks a brilliant color so contrast to the dully washed night. Jack had come up behind him and swung quickly, the blade going cleanly through Barbossa's neck. He smiled at Will but a cry brought him back to the other side of the ship. Scarlette was smiling faintly.

She was white, completely pallid. She choked up blood and looked down, grabbing the blade of her sword where Barbossa's blood still sat. Looking at Jack, she gasped, attempting to breathe through the blood.

He ran to her as she tottered and fell over.

"Jack ..." she whispered, attempting to touch his face. He shook his head.

"Don't you dare talk about it," he told her. "There's got to be ... Barton! No! He's ... damn!"

"There's always a way," she whispered. "Is he dead?"

"Barbossa, dead," Jack whispered. "But you ..."

"Perhaps," she whispered. "Secrets, secrets. We think we know, but no one knows anything."

"No," Jack hissed. "You will know. I will tell you. I did say it. And I meant it. I still mean it. I love you. I didn't want to love you, I tried desperately not to love you, even tried to push you away. But I found that it's not something you can get rid of easily. I'm stuck, and now, I hate myself for dragging you into this. You may not love me, but I do, so much. I really hope you heard that, because I don't think I can repeat it before ..."

"I heard you," she whispered, closing her eyes. "Three things. One; Take the necklace. Two; collect some of Barbossa's blood. Three; Trust the French." Jack was confused but he did the first, breaking the clasp and putting all three rings into his pocket along with the chain. She smiled at him, blood staining her mouth.

"I'm sorry I can't answer you, Jack," she told him. "Goodbye."

He looked aghast at her and Nick, who had dropped to the deck and come up behind them made some sound. Jack whirled around. Nick backed up, a frightened look on his adolescent face. He had come down from the mast to go back to his ship but had witnessed Barbossa's death. Everyone was watching Jack and Nick, the two bodies ignored. No one noticed when one of the bodies suddenly disappeared.

"You are 14, Mr. Maxwell?" Jack said nonchalantly. "Am I correct?"

"Y-yes, sir," Nick stammered. "And a half."

"Well, Nicholas," Jack continued. "I was seventeen when I made my first kill. Do you know who it was?"

Nick remained silent. Jack nodded and continued. "It was completely self defense. My captain took the other man's side and tossed me off the ship. It was thirty miles from land. Luckily, I was able to find a wayside sea turtle and steer it towards a port. I arrived in Tortuga and started me own crew."

"I told you he used a sea turtle," Gibbs stage whispered. Will rolled his eyes.

Jack turned and shot a hole in the rowboat dangling off the deck. "Get in."

Nick just stared and Jack brandished the gun at him. "Do I look like the bluffing sort? I have more than one shot you know. I don't need to wait for the opportune moment in your case, savvy? Get in the bloody boat or you'll be missin' somethin'."

Nick shakily got into the boat and Jack, quite the shooter that day, shot the pulley, shattering the wooden knob, the boat falling to the water below amidst the continuous cannon fire.

Jack then ran to his cabin, grabbed a chalice and collected Barbossa's blood, the women looking away in disgust as he held the severed head over the chalice. The eyes followed him and it sent chills up his spine. The chalice, full, was placed in his cabin in a chest. The body was then burned, the head thrown to the sharks.

During all this, Nick had managed to row out away from the ships, and away from the sharks, which were eating heartily off the men falling into the water. Nick's boat was slowly becoming swamped. He had stuffed his hat in the hole, partially plugging it, but water still seeped into the small craft. He was using one of his boots to occasionally bail the skiff like vessel.

He was paying attention to the hole when he felt the sea below him move in a frightening way. He looked up and saw the five, no, six gargantuan ships moving slowly towards him. He swallowed in fear as their wake and fore ripple pitched his little world crazily. One of the large ships dragged him along in its considerable wake.

Nick looked up and saw the fleur-de-lis on the bow, not knowing what it meant at all.

Jack heard the cannons and he looked over, his dark eyes very wide. There were the six ships, looming dangerously from the fog, but the cannons were not aimed at _the Pearl_. Those cannons, 32 pounders, were aimed at the hull of _The Poison Dragon_.

Jack pulled out his spyglass and focused on the jack of the ships. The fleur-de-lis was on the bows of the giants and the flag that waved in the slight breeze was blue, white, then red bars. The French were bailing _the Pearl_.

_The Dragon _was continuously bombarded by the Man o' Wars and eventually, she pulled away. Her sunken mast drifted, slowing her down tremendously and _the Dragon _tipped to it's port side and sank, the water in its place imploding for a split second, the next, bubbling up suggestively.

_The Opal's Revenge_, pretty much deserted, was left alone as one of the ships pulled to broadside with _the Pearl_. Two men boarded and walked up to Jack.

"'Allo, monsieur," one said in very accented English. "We have 'elped you."

"Thanks very much," Jack said halfheartedly. "I suppose I owe the Frogs a favor, eh?" The Frenchmen were confused, not knowing too much of the English jargon.

The man spoke again. "I am Capitaine Bernard. We noticed you being attacked by ze privateer and colony vessel. We are very glad to aid you against England."

"Ah," Jack nodded. "The enemy of my enemy be me friend. I understand. _Je comprener_." The Frenchmen glanced at each other and laughed at his crude misuse of the verb. Jack was not big on conjugation.

"Trust the French," he muttered, shaking his head and looking downcast. "Damn woman." He held out his hand to Bernard. "Thank you. I have a question for you, though, I hope you don't mind me asking." He paused as the man nodded. "Did it hurt?"

The man looked confused. "_Excusez-moi_? Did what 'urt, monsieur?"

"You know," Jack said, nudging him. He made scissor motions with his hand. "Snip, snip. Did it hurt?"

The French captain still look confused. He bowed and turned. "_Au revoir, monsieur_. We will escort your ship to ze coast."

Jack shrugged. "I was just wondering."

…

Nick watched the ships go and finally, something clicked. The fleur-de-lis. It was French! He remembered back to the day a few years ago when his sister had proudly flaunted her pin she'd gotten in French class for being the top student. He sneered and began to row, aching, throbbing, rowing. Now that he was an enemy, he didn't feel guilty thinking of a plan to overthrow everyone.

…

Jack sat on his bed, twirling the chain with its rings around his index finger. He'd reclaimed the green stoned ring and found ironically that the plain gold ring fit his ring finger, but the skull ring fit none. The other two were men's rings but that petite hand could be the only one to carry the skull. He clasped the chain around his neck and sighed. _The Pearl _would dock in France tomorrow and grab cargo enough for the trip back to the Caribbean.

He dozed off and dreamed of Barbossa, oddly enough, about the time when they'd first met. It was after the Nassau incident and they were once again in an unnamed pub, battling the entire room. The knife wasn't very large, but the man who wielded it was talented. Barbossa had almost lost his eye in that fight. He had carried a scar, like the shiny path of a tear, ever since that day, just as Jack had gotten a paper thin scar along his right hand.

Jack awoke with a start, sitting up in bed. The knock on the door sounded again and Jack went to open it, admitting Kristin. She looked up at him and spoke.

"Are you going to send us back?"

"Once we dock," Jack answered. "I suppose that's what she wanted the blood for."

"Jack," Kristin began. "She's still alive, you know."

He glanced at her. "I know."

"Well, aren't you going to—"

"No," Jack said, turning away from her. "You heard her. '_I'm sorry Jack. I can't answer you_.' It's her choice, not mine. If she wants to stay in her time, it's not in my power to stop her."

"But Jack," Kristin insisted. "You two are married! You can't just let her—"

"No, Missy," he exclaimed, rounding on her. "You do not understand the situation, nor do you have the clout to procure an explanation from me. If she wants to return, she will. My forcing her to come back would only anger her. Trust me, to know her is to know myself. I would not want her coming to force me back either."

Kristin looked sad. "I heard what you said to her Jack. I know, no matter how you mask it, you would be torn if she didn't come back."

Jack gave her a fierce glare. "You would be wise not to continue on that line of conversation. Bring the others up when we're moored."

Jack sat on the bed and Kristin left. She didn't let the matter sit, however, but mentioned it to Heather, who understood the character of a person as if they were an open book.

A little after lunch, Heather knocked on the captain's door and was admitted.

"Jack," she began, walking about as he lounged at his table, his feet crossed on the marred wooden surface of it. "What do you think of Sharon growing up to be like Elizabeth?"

Jack cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why?"

"Just wondering."

"I think it's a horrible waste of talent," Jack murmured.

Heather laughed a little and sat at the table, crossing her hands. "And what would you do to prevent that?"

"You're very persuasive, I'll give you that," he told her. "But I know exactly what you're up to."

Heather shrugged and smiled.

He sat up, putting his feet on the floor with a soft clunk. "Is there a problem with my decision, Miss Cook?"

"Yes," Heather answered confidently. "She loves you, Jack."

He scoffed. "Why is everything about bloody love with you women, eh? Can't there be a normal answer, something like ... I don't know, she still has my shirt, or ... something of that sort. You know what I mean."

Heather laughed and Jack gave her a stern eye. "What's so funny, eh?"

Heather shook her head. "Never mind."

He sighed. "I hate it when you do that. All you future women, always never mind. You can't just tell me what was funny?"

"You wouldn't get it," she told him. "You're a boy."

"I'm a little more than a boy, luv," he grunted indignantly. "Will is a boy."

"Well, excuse me," Heather muttered.

He crossed his arms and put his feet back up. "The thing is, she warned me. When we were on that island, she told me. I think it's a bit ironic that the very thing she told me about, a recounted event on her part, a thing she swore never to do, she did."

"What are you talking about?" Heather asked.

Jack gave a ruthless sneer. "Apparently there was a boy who knew her well. Well enough that he knew exactly what would break her. In knowing this, he pushed her anyway. She swore never to do that to anyone."

"How do you know she did it on purpose?" Heather countered. Jack gave her a look.

"If you met someone like you in many a way, would you not know what bothered them? She knew what it took for me to ... to say all that and she still went ahead and …."

Heather was nodding and watching his face carefully. "Jack, what would you have done if she said all that to you?"

He opened his mouth, shut it, and looked thoughtful. "Now? Or what I would have done before?"

She gave him a look and the infamous, nearly immortal Captain Jack Sparrow squirmed. "All right, all right, now. Well ..."

Heather leaned towards him. "Yes?"

His upper lip twitched. "Your point is, I might have done the same thing, right? Well, yes. If she had said all that to me, I would probably, most likely, almost certainly have told her that she was about to be disappointed, but we are not the same person."

"My point is," Heather interrupted before he could go any further. "That you two are exceptionally alike in the fact that neither one of you wants to yield to the other, but at the same time, you do. Also, though you may have your differences in opinion, the way in which you argue your points are almost identical."

Jack gave her a skeptical look.

"Like ... remember when she was trying to keep you from leaving the ship in Tortuga? She staked out in front of the door? You tied her up in the bed? If your positions were switched, you might have done the same thing."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Why are we having this conversation?"

Heather smiled, here eyes shining. "Because you are going to get her and bring her back."

Jack looked at her strangely. "You know, for knowing the human heart so well, you don't know very much about the brain."

…

The ship docked early the next morning just outside of Bordeaux and Jack, his summoning having woke the future babes up, brought the four groggy kids up to his cabin.

"Grab a hold, kids," he said flatly. "You know the drill." They were holding the spoon again and the two boys looked confused. The held on as Jack requested and he painted the end of the spoon with blood from the chalice.

He couldn't control where they landed so he prayed that they would somehow loose the spoon. When they were gone, he ordered the men (and woman) to be careful of what they said. If the French found out that he was Captain Jack, they might not make it out of France. Not only was he wanted by the government … the pirates about there had been told to apprehend him by a revered French captain by name of Chevalle.

« _Bienvenue_! » a woman said later in the day. Jack was careful to ignore everything he possible could.

He knew he couldn't stay here too long but _the Pearl_ needed desperate repairs, the main mast cracked, the hull full of holes, the missing rudder, not to mention medicine and such. He had told the crew to get what they needed personally first and then they would work on getting the proper cargo.

_The Pearl _was dry-docked at the moment and so Jack, knowing he needed off the ship for awhile, walk about the various _rues_, looking around. The babble of French going on around him was unintelligible to him except for a very few words. The French he had learned seemed to have left him, except for a few verbs and the pronouns.

Bordeaux was not nearly as beautiful as he'd heard. He felt as if everything he'd seen had been drenched in a gray paint, the color bled from the world. He couldn't put a finger on exactly why everything was so gloomy, but he did know he needed a drink. Jack stepped into a bar and lost himself for a while.

…

The crumby boat docked somewhere in La Manche, though Nick didn't know anything about where the hell he was. All he knew was that there was a mixture of French and old English floating around. He asked a man where he was and got a string of French that sounded awfully like the man was cursing him. He asked another man and was blissfully relieved when the man answered, no matter that it was in cockney.

"Where am I?"

"Oi, boy, you not be known where ye be, eh? Ye a shifty lad, bu' 'ere be the Frogs."

"France then. Can you get me to England?"

"Aye, 'at Oi cin do. Whot's it to ya? Ye got the gold fer't?"

"... No, but I can get it."

" 'Ow's 'at?"

"I need to get to England so I can tell whoever'll listen to me something very important. You'll get your gold at the end of it."

"Roight, roight. Be ready by tea. We be off at 14, aye?"

Nick nodded and decided to just stick around the man all day since he could hardly understand him and he thought it would be hard to find someone else so eager to please.

…

It was not a long journey across La Manche and Nick was happily rid of the man when he was finished. He didn't know who to go to, but he remembered something about Cambridge. That was his first step. He argued and pushed and bartered until he had gotten a carriage bound for Cambridge.

…

It was about two weeks later when Jack was seized in a bar, drunk thickly on rum and fine wine, his eyes so glazed that a bumblebee would have a hard time making him blink. He merely allowed the French soldiers to drag him off and lock him in a cell. He didn't understand what was going on until the next morning.

He woke to the bars of his cell and found himself alone. He stood up and started yelling. A man came down and stopped in front of his dirty cell, a smug look on his face.

"What did you want, _mouche_?"

"What did you call me? Are you callin' me out?"

"_Tais toi_!"

Jack knew that one, for sure and decided to use Scarlette's trick. "You must mean '_taisez-vous'_. We aren't familiar enough for the 'tu' form." Of course, Scarlette usually said all of that in French but he wasn't in the mood to do so, plus, once he got it all out, the man would have left.

"_Qu'est-ce que c'est ... moosh_?" Jack stumbled.

"_Mouche_," the man sat, clapping his hands at an invisible insect. "Fly, insect, pest."

"Oh, that's flattering, frog face. How do you say frog face in French?"

"_La visage de grenouille_."

"Never mind. That went by _way _too fast."

The man laughed, his voice cascading from high to low. Jack smirked.

"I don't get the whole humiliated grapes thing," Jack muttered to the man. "Might as well be raisins to begin with. Why do you ... you know ..." he made the snipping motion.

"What are you talking about?" the man asked him incredulously. Jack sighed.

"I suppose I'll never know. Why am I here?"

"You've been sold."

"What?"

"The English passel of _bôites des merdes_ paid money for you."

"You sold me to England? Are you insane?"

The man only smiled.

"Trust the French," Jack muttered. "Trust the bloody French. Damn eunuchs, the lot of you."

"What is a eunuch?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"_Non_."

"Well, son," Jack laughed. "It's like this. They take the snippers and ... well, you know. Humiliated grapes, you get it? What am I talking about? You already know this, more intimately than I ever will."

The man looked confused. "They cut grapes with scissors? That's a eunuch? What a funny word. You Nick."

Jack suddenly looked up. "Nick. That's who's behind this. That little bastard ratted me out! Where's the bloody youth. I'm going to kill him."

"Mmm," the man groaned. "Garlic potatoes." Jack just barely noticed the hearty smells wafting in through the windows.

Jack's stomach growled. "Don't we get any food in this place?"

The man smiled again and walked away, returning with a bowl of brownish slop that smelled worse than Pintel. He didn't even want to _think_ about what it looked like, especially not in France.

"What's this?"

"_Bouillabaisse_."

"Oh, no. I've seen what kind of things you put in your supposed 'fish soup'. I know men who have_ been _some of the things in this mess. You eat it."

"Oh, _non, pour toi_."

"That's _vous_ you pompous rooster egg."

The man laughed at Jack and left him to his ... dinner.

"Whatever happened to the sweet things in life like chocolate and incompetent women?" Jack muttered. He took careful aim and chucked the bouillabaisse out the gutter fill, slopping the street above him.

Of course, about an hour later, someone decided to clean up the mess, throwing a bucket of scalding water in the mixture, which washed it back into Jack's cell. He shouted as the hot concoction fell over his shoulders, flattening his shirt to his body.

"And where is my bloody crew as I'm bathing in pig slop?" Jack asked the empty air, steam rising from his shoulders.

…

No one knew where Scarlette was. She wasn't in California, and she didn't seem to be in Oregon either. Her friends were getting slightly worried and Jack had forgotten completely about Elizabeth.

One person, one highly determined person, did know where Scarlette was hiding, though he didn't know her by that name. She was in fact, chilling in California. The only reason he even knew she was there was that scent. That damn infuriating vanilla and sakura spray scent! She always put it on and no matter where she was, he could smell the cherry blossoms. He remembered being on the marching field and being able to smell the flowers and vanilla from across the field.

He noticed it about a block from the high school. She was easily discovered, eating a lunch at a little joint about five minutes walk from the school, though by now she wasn't in school anymore.

He decided to follow her, because everything he'd heard about her led him to believe she was still missing. She finished her food and cleaned up her place, standing up and leaving. She walked differently, looked different, but of course, he hadn't seen her for over a year. She was thinner too.

Scarlette walked down the street, keeping to the sidewalk even as a teen on a bike rode by her. She didn't move and the kid was forced to swerve for her. She gave a little flick of her head, her golden hair flying back, showing her left arm and he saw the burn scar.

She had several new scars, though he didn't know that. On her back and abdomen were deep stab wounds. Deep because they had impaled her. More scars dotted her neck from Barbossa's hands and teeth, though there's no way he would believe any of _those_ stories. Her right arm had an interesting web of scars where her bones had protruded when her arm broke.

She raced up a stairway to an apartment complex and he watched her open a door with a key and enter. Suspicious, he took note of the place and went about his day.

…

"No more American food!" Elizabeth groaned. "Look at this! I've gained eleven pounds!"

"Oh, stop complaining," Robin snapped. "I weigh more than you and I'm still eating American food."

"Oh, it's so ... fattening," Elizabeth groaned. "But I can't stop eating it. French fries!"

The two girls exchanged glances and Claudia popped up, stealing one of the fries. Elizabeth growled at her very uncharacteristically.

"Hey, who needs Ryoko when Elizabeth's around to eat all our food?" Claudia added after swallowing.

"What was that?" a strange voice asked. The girls all looked up to find their friend standing above their table.

Everyone stood and started asking questions. She bade them to sit down and she slid in next to Claudia. They were seated in a cheap fast food joint. Scarlette ordered chili cheese fries and a very large drink.

"All right, ladies," Scarlette began. "You'll be happy to know, that Captain Hector Barbossa has moved on. The bastard stabbed me, as well as someone behind me, but he's dead and I'm not."

"Stabbed you?" Lizzy asked. "Where! Show us!"

Scarlette sighed and lifted up her shirt (Tanqueray Gin, London). There was one scar a little to the right of her navel, above it about an inch. The other was on the right side. The one in the middle looked rougher. Then she turned around and the wounds switched, the one on the outside looking rougher.

"I stabbed Barbossa, someone stabbed me from behind, Barbossa stabbed me, I shot him, then Jack lopped his head off. It's kind of funny when you think about it."

"And how's Jack?" Claudia asked, giving her the suggestive glance of a nosy friend.

"Jack is ..." Scarlette found she didn't know what to say about Jack. She was thinking back to the last thing she'd heard him say. '_I love you_.' She looked sad for a moment and the girls saw it.

She realized she, once again, didn't know what she thought of him. She was trying her hardest not to think of him, though she wished she could see Sharon.

She left them, telling them nothing of where she was living or anything else, which included a few secrets, about Jack, about other things, a few things not even the readers know.

The apartment was rented to Scarlette Sparrow, a non English-speaking woman supposedly. She only 'spoke' French in front of them so as not to be bothered.

Though, frighteningly enough, when she opened the door, she knew someone was there. She caught a faint whiff of some familiar cologne she hadn't noticed in years and the fact that her door was unlocked clued her as well.

She got low to the floor as the noise assaulted her. She was moving without thinking and she had a fistful of the intruders shirt before she even located the light switch. She slammed him against the wall and flicked the switch, the light blaring into their minds like a siren of color.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked him. "How do you know where I live and why are you here?"

"Where have you been?" he asked her. "You've been gone for over a year, somewhere warm from the looks of it. You're darker." She slammed him against the wall again. "And stronger."

"That had better be a compliment," she snapped. "What do you want?"

He smiled at her and she wanted to hit him. "Go away. I don't have time to baby-sit you. You're old enough. How old are you, 21 now? Go on."

"I'm older than you," he snapped.

"Hardly," she told him. "If you knew half the stuff I learned in the last year, then you might stand a chance, but no. Just leave before I ... call the cops or something modern like that."

"You don't have a phone," he mentioned. "I checked. Why are you talking like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like ... some British person. Is that where you've been?"

"I'm not! Not on purpose, anyway. You'd be stuck like this too if you only knew! And why should you criticize my accent when you've had one all your life!"

He shrugged and smiled.

"Go away," she growled. "Or I'm going to kick your ass, and don't think I won't."

"You never could before," he pointed out.

"Wrong," she said. "I never _would_ before. Are you advising me that was a mistake?"

He only laughed at her. She sighed.

"Listen, asshole," she said in his face. "Anything between us doesn't exist anymore, so get the hell out of here before I get really angry and shoot you or something equally regrettable, got it? You'd feel pretty stupid if I was the one to kill you."

He only stared at her with dark eyes. He never took her seriously.

She sighed and pulled the shirt up, grabbing the gun in her belt. She pointed it at him. He shrugged and walked towards her.

"You wouldn't shoot me," he said bluntly. "One; you'd go to jail. Two; it would hurt you too."

"Sure about that? Want to bet your life on it? I really don't give a rat's ass about you anymore so you can go shove your agenda with me in mind up your own you know what. Get out."

His face finally changed. "What's happened to you?"

She grinned. "Drink up me hearties, yo ho."

He looked at her in a confused way but still didn't back off. She went to open the door and he lunged, grabbing the gun from her. She let him have it. He popped the cartridge out and found no bullets.

He laughed hysterically as she opened the door, probably thinking she didn't know about the bulletless gun. She had done it that way on purpose.

"Go on, get out," she motioned. "Just because I'm over eighteen doesn't mean I'm in the same boat as you. I've got me own ship. Leave now or be forced to."

He still didn't believe her and when she turned around, she found herself pressed to the wall. She sighed and jerked her knee up faster than he could react.

He crumpled to the floor and she grabbed his arms and dragged him out the door, slamming it and locking it securely, putting a chair under the knob just in case he tried to get in again.

"Stupid bastard," she muttered. "No one controls me anymore."

…

Oh, boy. That was fun, well ... sort of. I'm kind of sad, guys. This story's almost over! *sob* yeah right. You guys are probably tired of reading this. It's gotten too long. Come on! I beat over 3800 people in length! That's just ... never mind. And to think this was written by a tuba player, the supposed idiots of the universe.

**Revisited 1-20-07 2:55 am … actually, it's more like 8500 people, now. I think there is one person who is close, if not higher … I don't know.**

_**Re-re-visited 1-9-08, 2:38 am … now it's over 15,000 … I have two, almost three stories out and there is **_one _**that beats any one of them for length … however, there are **_three_**of mine**_**.**


	23. Chapter XXII : Foiled Escape

Interesting. Very interesting. So far my list for possible premier people are as follows

Me, as Jack (sorry guys, I've got everything but the body, including the bloody voice)

Elizabeth, as Elizabeth (maybe)

Robin, as Elizabeth, a random wench, or a pirate, whichever she chooses

Heather as Will (she makes a bloody good Will)

Kristin as Anamaria

Krystal as Gisele

Kindra as Scarlet (the whore)

Sean as Gibbs

Heather's dad as Barbossa, mom as wench or pirate

I think that's all I've got for now. If you're still interested, send an email to . I especially need some British soldiers and at the very least, a Commodore Norrington or Gov. Swann.

1-800-PIRATES (this was an idea that developed in my theater class as we were talking about potential vanity numbers)

Well, we'll get back to Jack in La Bastille and friends so ... ta.

**Chapter XXII –Foiled Escapes and Friendly Escapades**

Jack woke again, very angry and in a large welt of pain. His shoulders felt raw and his back needed desperately to be cracked or massaged. Even worse, he could hear the mixture of French spoken English, and British English at the foot of the hall. Where was Paul Revere when you needed him? (That obviously wasn't Jack's thought for those of you who know your history.)

The men came walking down the hall and Jack caught his first sight of the lobster about to apprehend him. He was a short man with straight brown hair, plaited thinly down his back. Jack glared up at him tiredly.

"Come now, Mr. Sparrow," the Brit said lightly, unlocking the door. "No funny business, now. You're bound for London."

Jack snorted at the man. "You think you can hang me?"

He laughed. "Norrington's ill equipped to dealing with pirates such as you. We're taking you to the _real_ pirate's hell. You'll be hung, then shipped to Port Royal to hang beside your fellow brigands, irons strapped to your very bones."

Jack said nothing but he gave the man as dark a look as he could muster. The mercenary laughed heartily.

"It was quite the race to get to you, Sparrow. The Company heard you were here as well and the King's chairman was on his way personally to apprehend you. We're going to take you with us, and _sell_ you to the highest bidder, be it the Navy or the Company."

Jack shivered internally, not wanting to give this pompous bastard the satisfaction of seeing him squirm as he dragged Jack out of the cell. Jack's hands were bound in irons and, knowing his reputation, the man had his ankles bound as well, giving only enough slack to make walking possible. There would be no sprinting dashes for Mr. Sparrow. He almost wished Beckett _had _gotten there first. That man's ego generally allowed for escapes or at least bargains that might lead to bought time.

"Trust the bloody French," Jack muttered, shaking his head. "Scarlette, luv, I hope I make it out of this."

"Speaking of which, Mr. Sparrow," the man said, leading him to an ominously black swathed carriage. "Where is the young Mrs. Sparrow, eh?"

Jack gave him a drained look. "What's it to you?"

The man smiled. "Well, sir, she's also wanted by the crown. She's, if we can apprehend her before your execution date, to hang beside you. Those navy types will pay for both and I'll never need another penny."

Jack sighed. "She's dead."

The man was suddenly quiet. "I'm sorry, Mr. Sparrow."

"Sorry enough to let me go?"

"Well, not quite." He shoved the pirate along and Jack sighed.

"Can't blame a man for trying."

…

The gang had met again, minus Diana, who couldn't be found at all, at the mall. Scarlette and Elizabeth looked very out of place, even dressed normally. They walked to the food court and ordered various things from the several different outlets. Scarlette and Lizzy went Chinese, Scarlette making a comment on how the whole adventure started with a fortune cookie.

"I intend to send Elizabeth back soon," she told them. "She definitely needs to get back to Will."

"And what about Jack? Are you just going to leave him?" Elizabeth said quickly. Scarlette flinched and looked away.

"You're going to let another one go," Claudia muttered.

"He loves you! You have to go back!" Lizzy exclaimed.

"I know," Scarlette muttered absently. Robin gasped.

"He said something, didn't he?" she declared pointing at Scarlette. "You two always acted fond of each other, but never love. I could tell. Speak up, Ryoko. No more keeping secrets from us buddies. Come on."

She looked Robin right in the eye and considered her, her eyes uncannily familiar with their ring of black, giving her a more sinister appearance. It was not enough to back Robin down however and the others joined in.

She took a breath, closing her eyes and prepping for what was to follow. She opened them and managed a neutral face. "Barbossa had shot him. I hadn't noticed it, but he'd taken my vest, you know the one. It fit him better than it did me but that's beside the point. He told me to distract Barbossa, get his back turned to the once again 'dead' Jack. Unfortunately, Barton intervened and ended up becoming a snack for Barbossa, who gained a shit load of power." She looked at them, making sure they understood what that meant before she continued.

"The fight ended up moving to the rigging and mast. To give you the short and sweet version, I was stabbed twice, once from someone behind and once by Barbossa, both in my torso. Luckily, Barbossa was wounded as well and fell or I might not have made it back. Jack climbed up and grabbed me before I fell to the deck, though the damage was already done. Had it not been for the time shift, I'd be dead. The answer to your question is ... well, I don't really want to say."

"Well, come on," Anita insisted. "You've told us that much."

"After Jack killed Barbossa," she continued. "I ... well, I knew I should have left as soon as I could. I have the bloody sword at home to use with the gold in the hilt but ... well, Jack saw me fall and he ran over. I've never seen him look that way. It sort of terrified me. He said something about me, a sort of unfinished sentence and I started babbling about secrets. I wasn't even sure what _I_ was talking about but then he looked completely serious, as if he understood my half-dead mutterings.

"I can almost remember word for word what he said next and to tell you the absolute truth, it frightened me just a bit. I don't know whether to trust him or not, due to previous experiences."

"Out with it!" Robin snapped. "You've been jumping around the point to within an inch of our, or at least my patience. What did he say?"

Scarlette sighed. "I'd rather not."

"Come on!"

"Please!"

"Let her be," Elizabeth told them. "It's not very amusing to have these sorts of things known."

"Yeah, well the whole world knows about when Will told you he loved you," Claudia pointed out.

"What? Who told them? Was it the Commodore? Father?"

"Nope. We saw it. In a movie."

"A what?"

"You mean you haven't made her sit through that movie yet?"

Robin laughed. "Trust me. We know all about it. We know how you took Will's medallion, how you fell from the fort and were saved by Jack, how you tried to bargain with Barbossa, and even how you got stuck on the island."

Elizabeth looked shocked, but to their surprise, she blinked and shrugged. "Well, then. If you know so much, by all means, tell us."

Scarlette grimaced and the girls laughed. She put her hands up and shook her head. "I don't want to! If you're so eager to find out, you can ask the other girls when they come back. They were there."

"What?" Claudia sneered. "Did he confess undying love?"

Scarlette snorted as she sipped her drink. "Not undying, no. Although it really isn't any of _your_ business."

Lizzy and Claudia giggled. Anita and Robin leaned closer. Elizabeth was scarfing her food, very unladylike. Scarlette refused to look at them, absently glancing across the mall.

Just then, someone they knew showed up. It was Jenny Hall with her mother and they were waving crazily, Jenny running, dodging the tables and people in the food court. She came to a halt at the table.

"Hey guys!" she said perkily. "I haven't seen Ryoko in a while."

"That's 'cause I don't live here anymore."

"Yeah, I know," she answered. "Hey, you guys want to come to my church's dance tonight? It's only three dollars and the food's free."

"What? Free food?" Elizabeth and Scarlette said at the same time. They looked at each other and growled.

"Hey, you look familiar," Jenny said to Elizabeth.

"This is the other Elizabeth," Lizzy introduced. "She's Ryoko's friend."

"I'm coming," Scarlette announced. "My parents aren't here to keep me from everything. What time?"

"7-10:30."

"Great. You guys in?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Fun, fun. What are we supposed to wear? Church function, great … that means I have to leave my weapons and alcohol advertising shirts at home."

…

"We'll get you when it's time to die," the man grunted rudely, shoving Jack into the cell. Jack tolerated the man's pushiness as he slid along the dusty stone wall.

"You must be Jack Sparrow," a dirty old man in the next cell assessed.

"_Captain _Jack Sparrow," Jack muttered.

"Ah, well ye be in fer a surprise. These idiots got a strange sense of fun, ye know. The durn chancellor needs money again. He be a gamblin' man."

"Why tell me?"

"Ye be a source fer money, ye be. He's goin' ta auction ye, I'll wager."

"What are you talking about, old man?"

"He's done it before. He'll auction ye off as a slave or he'll sell the privilege to pull the lever. Ladies and gents, you can be the one to kill the Infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. A bit morbid. Last week, man by name of Rutherford went. Funny thing, a young girl pulled the lever. Her father bought it fer her. How sad is that? A girl of 'bout ten killin' off Rutherford."

Jack was looking at the man in serious contemplation. "That is absolutely ridiculous. Sounds to me like you're attempting to scare me. Somethin' to tell the grandkids eh? Guess whom I met in jail. It was ol' Jack Sparrow, leaving off the title on purpose to make it seem grander, and guess what kids. I scared him! Yes sir, your old gramps scared the infamous pirate Sparrow, Captain of the ghost ship."

The old man chuckled. He had a dirty old cloth wrapped around his head, covering one eye. His hair was white and his skin, a wrinkled and patched butternut. His body seemed to be rotting already and Jack had the feeling of being in Death's presence. This man was decaying, his personal hygiene so far gone that it'd take an acid wash to cleanse him of everything.

"I be knowin' a way out, I be," the man growled. He pointed to a brick in Jack's cell. "If ye go through that door, ye be findin' a way."

"Are you certain?" Jack asked the man. "We are in fact inside a tower." The man just looked at him, a sage expression on his grizzled features. Jack glared at the man and gave a shrug that said he didn't believe.

The decrepit old urchin just grinned his toothless mouth at Jack. "You see anyone else in here?"

Jack shrugged and pushed the brick with his foot. It was heavy, not easily moved. Jack got on his hands and knees and pushed it, the man chortling at his efforts. Jack finally got the brick out of the way. He crawled through, hardly being small enough to squeeze through the narrow opening.

It was pitch black on the other side of the wall and Jack slid the brick back into place. He noticed he was inside a sort of closet and there was light coming from the other side of the door. He listened for a moment and didn't hear anything from the other side. He pushed the door open quickly and surveyed the room.

There was a half-naked soldier lying on a bed, dead drunk, his breeches the only things on him. Jack wrinkled his nose and moved around the mounds of laces and things. He had come out into a brothel of course. Why it was so close to where he was being kept, he couldn't guess. He looked around carefully, snapping around when he heard voices coming down the hall. He looked quickly and dove behind a pile of silks where he buried himself.

"Well, I am _definitely_ not in the tower anymore," Jack whispered to himself. "Horse magic."

Several women entered the room and began clucking away. "Oh, he's still asleep. How adorable. Should we kill him?"

"Why?"

"This is the second time he's passed out without paying."

"Maybe. Let's clean this mess up first. If he hasn't gotten up by then, we can try killing him."

Jack felt some of the silk above him move as the women began cleaning. He wasn't very frightened. The worst that could happen in this situation was a slap in the face and he'd gone through all that before. He didn't move a muscle, knowing the women would become agitated if they saw their pile moving. He waited patiently, wishing he had his weapons.

At last, one of the women pulled something off his face. He expected her to make some noise, except she hadn't seen him yet. He was looking up at the ceiling, wondering where he should run when one of the women screamed.

"Oh! What is that? Kill it!"

"Not me," another shouted. "I'm not touchin' anything that looks like that! Run!"

"Oi, a bunch o' ninnies," the man grunted. Jack was wondering what in the world they could be talking about, trying not to let his imagination get the better of him. He felt rather than saw the women leave the room and the man follow shortly, hopefully putting his clothing on.

When they had left, Jack climbed out of the pile and began to disentangle himself from the several items, which included some of the women's undergarments and such. He was well distracted when the thing that had frightened the women away touched his boot.

The movement, seen out of the corner of his eye, made him look down abruptly to the creature that had made its way partway up his leg. It was ... a tarantula, even bigger than the two he'd met before. Either it was the same damn spider stalking him, or they were all out to get him.

He gave one short yelp and took off running, the thing still clutching him indomitably.

He burst from the room and ran out into a brightly lit room filled both with whores and soldiers looking to relieve themselves. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at him.

He was dressed normally, for him anyways, the spider slowly progressing up his pants leg, but that's not why they were staring. The men were staring both because they knew Jack's face from earlier that morning, and because he was still tangled in some of the ... items of the pile, old fashioned lingerie and other things dangling from his arms like bright ribbons of pink and red.

He gave one quick smirk and bolted towards the railing of the second story, vaulting over the edge and falling to the first floor. This may or may not have been a bad idea, for he landed on a table laden with food.

As he climbed out of the feast, he heard one of the soldiers shouting for command. The men began racing down the stairs, bayonets at the ready. Jack ran off towards the door, momentarily forgetting the spider on his thigh.

He burst out of the brothel and looked around, trying to decide which way to run. London was crowded but that was a good thing. It would be easier to escape.

The spider gave a tight little yank and Jack suddenly remembered. He shrieked, disturbing a few women in long coats. Sprinting as best he could, draped in lingerie and the spider, Jack Sparrow flew through the crowd, attempting to shirk the persistent British soldiers. He ran into a few people but so far, so good. Spoke too soon, for as he turned the corner, a whole brigade stood, stretched across the entire street. Jack saw them and his eyes widened. He turned and tried going in the opposite direction but that was closed as well by the pursuing soldiers.

Jack spun around, his sash flying wildly, the spider at his waist now. He began batting at the arachnid feebly, knowing that it was finished either way, but then he caught sight of the tower. It stood there with slight purpose, a little water tower with several ropes attached and a small ladder leading to the top. He glanced around, and the spider took a few more inches, the soldiers closing in. He broke for it, the spider flapping violently against his abdomen as it clung to his shirt. He leapt and made the ladder, flying up the rungs until he stood on the tower railing. From here, he could reach the roof of another building. A shot rang out and Jack heard a splash. He risked a look back.

One of the drunken soldiers had fired at him, the ball tearing a large gash in the water tower, the contents spilling into the street, churning the already soggy road into foul smelling mire.

Jack was running along the rooftop, the spider almost to his chest, kept from progress by his movement. Shots rang out, following his feet like his own dusty footprints, breaking shingles and wood in their wake.

Jack wasn't really paying attention to the bullets but to the empty air before him. He didn't have chains this time but he did have ….

Jack whipped off one of the silky undergarments and draped it over the rope extending from the weathervane to the next building and jumped, flying along the rope at a frightening speed. He put his feet forward and broke through the shutters of the house to which the rope lead.

He tumbled along the wooden floor, disturbing an old woman who was busy sewing at her table. She ended up sewing over the spider's legs, the creature actually making sounds as she screamed in fright, stabbing her needle into it repeatedly in an effort to kill it. The spider continued to follow Jack, no matter that three of its legs were attached loosely to a white doily. She'd only punctured one of them but the thread had become entangled in the monster's legs.

Jack jumped to his feet and raced down the stairs of the woman's house, knowing he needed to get away quickly or it was all over.

He erupted into yet another populated square, the market busy with fruit sales and carpet peddlers. He looked around quickly and disappeared into the throng, hiding behind a fruit booth.

He was so busy looking behind him that he didn't realize where he was going. He crashed into a stack of cages, freeing three geese the size of Labradors. The geese honked and nipped at him loudly, grabbing the attention of everyone in the square, including the soldiers who were rushing around the corner.

The geese would not relent even as Jack ran for cover, probably due to the fact that he was still covered in the food he'd fallen into on his way out. One such bird, a very persistent fowl, nipped his bottom several times as he tried in vain to shake everything that was chasing him.

He ran past a tall scaffolding, attempting to out run his followers but as soon as he passed the blasted thing he realized he'd made a big mistake. There was the brigade, or what was left of it, standing in front of him.

He about faced and found the other men and the geese.

"It's the end of the line, Sparrow," one man said, moving forward. "Just come with us before we're forced to shoot you."

"You're going to hang me anyways," Jack pointed out. "That's not much incentive for me to follow orders." He tossed one of the items at the man hitting him right in the face. By the time he cleared his vision, Jack had raced over to a contraption he'd glimpsed earlier. He sat in the scoop part of it and yanked on a lever. The catapult launched him into the air, over the soldiers, who commenced firing at him, missing of course.

He landed out of sight with a crash and the soldiers ran to find him.

…

The old man was laughing hysterically. "Oh, boy. You're one to remember, that you are."

Jack looked around in fury. He'd gone through all that just to land back in the jail! Two soldiers left to watch had their weapons on him.

"Get in your cell, Sparrow," one hissed at him. The light from the hole in the ceiling fell on the soldiers, making them more real than life. They backed him into his cell and locked the door just as the rest of the brigade rushed in.

Jack sat in a snit, crossing his arms. He'd almost escaped, and what's worse, he still had underwear stuck in his hair.

…

There wasn't really a set dress code for the party but it was a church thing and one couldn't be too scandalous. Scarlette left her alcohol advertising shirts at home.

The first thing the group noticed was the music. Elizabeth was frightened slightly and the disco ball made her feel dizzy. She latched onto Scarlette's arm and refused to let go. Scarlette put up with it and spotted with a relish, the table of food! She walked over, Elizabeth following, and began to glean the table of anything edible.

She and Elizabeth were laughing and stuffing their faces when an announcer man stood before everyone and began speaking, his voice amplified through the speaker system. Elizabeth ducked in fear, not used to the mechanically augmented voice.

"It's all right, Elizabeth," Scarlette assured her. "Trust me, it's harmless. Just don't stand next to it, or you might lose your hearing."

Elizabeth clamped onto her arm again, terrified, obviously not understanding what Scarlette had explained.

"Ladies and gentleman," the man spoke. "Our first dance of the evening will be a trip to the past. Who here knows how to waltz? Well, I'll have the ladies out first. Come, come now. Don't be shy. We're all family under this roof. Ah, yes. Thank you."

Elizabeth had perked up at the word 'waltz' and had dragged Scarlette out with her. The rest of the 'future' girls came out as well. They had definitely learned how to waltz during their time in the past.

Soon, they were equipped with partners and there was a classical piece going on. The other girls were laughing, Elizabeth giving the boy she was dancing with a haughty stare, laughing at his bad form.

Scarlette wasn't laughing, being probably the worst at waltzing. The boy she was dancing with was about 19 and was taller than most of the others. He tried to talk to her. "What's your name? I haven't seen you before."

"I came with Jenny," she told him. "My name's Scarlette."

"Really?" he exclaimed. "I don't mean any offense, but I've never met anyone named Scarlette before. I'm Tim."

"Well, Tim," she said lightly. "You can't exactly forget my name then, eh?"

"Where are you from?" he asked. "Your accent isn't from around here, is it?"

"I live here in town but I'm from ... well," she knotted her brow. "I'm from Jamaica, Port Royal."

"Really?" he asked excitedly. "That's cool. Were you born there?"

"No," she answered. "I have ... well, I just lived there."

"Okay," he said, knowing she wasn't telling him everything. "Can you jig?"

She looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

"Can you jig? That's my dad up there and he's putting on an Irish jig next. I don't know many other people who can jig. Can you?"

"Oh, yes," she answered, thinking of the gypsy caves in Tortuga. She had a fleeting image of Jack's dark eyes, lit up by the fires within the caves, the darkness of the irises dwindling to a tiny speck of orange light. She blinked and the image was gone.

"I'll do it," she told him. "I haven't done it in a while, but I'll dance."

Sure enough, the next song turned out to be a jig. Scarlette whipped around and gasped. She could swear it was the same song, the Tortuga jig. Before she could get her bearings, Tim snagged her arm and swung her onto the floor. She snapped out of her trance and began to jig with him.

The floor emptied out considerably. Elizabeth thought the jig to be a vulgar dance and the others didn't know really how to do it. Claudia, crazy girl that she was, starting doing her own pseudo jumping bean dance that looked like a slower version of River dancing.

Scarlette and Tim were getting cheers as they jigged and gavotted across the nearly deserted floor, only three other pairs going at it.

"Go Ryoko!" Lizzy shouted. "Did Jack teach her that?" she asked more quietly to Elizabeth. She shrugged.

Scarlette smiled sadly and picked it up, starting in on the more difficult moves. Tim grimaced and tried to follow.

"I thought you said you hadn't done this in a while?" he gasped.

"I did," she answered. "It's been almost a year."

The boy's face looked surprised. The music finally stopped and he waved, moving to sit at a table with his friends. Scarlette went back to her group and they bombarded her with questions again.

"Where did you learn that?" Claudia asked. "From Jack right? I don't remember you ever doing that before!"

"No," Scarlette told her sadly. "I knew how to jig before I met Jack. He was just as surprised as you were when I started doing it. He, of course, turned it into a contest."

"I would have paid to see that," Robin laughed. "Jack dancing Irish style."

"It wasn't that funny," Scarlette said a bit dryly. "He was pretty good at it." A small, familiar smile curved her lips. "Though the spider episode was hilarious."

…

Speaking of which, Jack was sitting against the stone of his cell, wondering if he was finally going to end up dead. The man hadn't spoken much after the incident of Jack's return through the jail roof.

There was a clang and the door at the end of the jail row opened and two men dragging a third entered the hall. The third man was giving quite a fight but they wrenched open a cell and threw him into it, shutting the door with a definite mechanical noise. The man gripped the bars in both fists and spat at the officers.

A few minutes later, another officer came in and doled out the food. Jack sniffed the ugly concoction, watching his two cell mates scarf it down. He took two bites, a swig of rum from his small pouch he'd been saving, and pushed the rest aside.

The man down the hall fell into a loud, snoring sleep once he finished his crude excuse for gruel and the old man hailed Jack again.

"That be Joseph Claggert," the man growled. "That bastard is a dangerous type. Fell on his head when he was just a lad, broke sommat inside, I'd wager. Don't hardly feel no pain, ain't got nothin' fer emotions neither, cep'tin his lust fer killin'. Never any evidence 'gainst him, seems to disappear. He's always comin' in and outta here. Never gets held for more'n ten days." The old man leaned in closer and Jack turned to look at him. "I hear tell he dun an' screwed his own parents, killed 'em, cooked 'em up, and ate 'em both."

Jack gave a gruesome look, his upper lip curling. "You can't possibly be serious, old man."

"I reckon I am," he grunted. "You'd do best, youngun like you to listen to men me age, eh? Man over in that cell ain't got a conscience worth two shillings. He'd sell his own mother for cheaper, if he hadn't kilt her."

Jack moved away from the old man's cell. "You're tryin' to scare me again, aren't you?"

"Is it working?" the old man grinned, the abysmal pits of his toothless mouth making Jack cringe.

"In a way," Jack muttered. "Though it's not what's coming out of your mouth that terrifies me."

"Fine," the old man smiled again. "I'll give ye a story to scare ye. A good sea horror, be right. Ye'll not go away without rememberin' old Cheese."

"Old Cheese?" Jack muttered as the man began his tale.

_ The Tale of the Drelp, Part I_

_ Not long ago, there was a man who worked for a powerful ruler. The ruler was kind enough to his subjects that they were obliged to do things for him and not complain in the slightest. The ruler came to the man one day and told him there was a prisoner that needed to be taken up the coast to be hung._

_ The man agreed quickly to the task and scrounged up a crew of four men, also telling his wife, who agreed to go along as well. The next few days merited a sloop, both rowable and sailable._

_ The voyage began early in the day, just as the sun was clearing the large trees that grew around the shore. The four crewmen rowed for a bit, took in the oars and let out the sail to give them a rest, and after supper, took up their rowing again._

_ Later in the night, the man's wife absently began singing, her husband joining in. Soon, all the men were singing along._

_ "Why do you mock me!" the prisoner, who up until this point, had been silent. "You sing, so full of joy. I feel as though you are laughing at my impending doom, my hanging at Gallow's point."_

_ "We are singing for our own fortune," the man told him. "Not to darken what's left of yours. If it bothers you that much, we will stop."_

_ "No," the man said softly. "Do what pleases you."_

_ The men didn't take up their voices again but the wife continued to sing sweetly, her voice blending with the waves._

_ Suddenly, there was a screeching sound that overran her voice, its shrill intonation piercing the crew's senses._

_ "It's the Drelp!" the prisoner exclaimed. "I've heard stories. It's been preyin' on ships for near a hundred years, never leaves any survivors. Takes 'em down to see old Hobb."_

_ "No survivors?" the captain, a friend of the man and his wife said. "Then where do the stories come from, I wonder?"_

At this, Jack wrinkled his nose.

_ The screaming continued. One of the men boldly stuck out his chest and said, "I hardly believe in ghost stories such as the Drelp. It don't exist anymore than _The Black Pearl_."_

_ "Oye, I've seen that ship b'fore," another man said._

_ "You 'aven't seen it."_

_ "Yes, I 'ave!"_

_ "You've seen a ship with black sails that's crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that hell itself spat him back out?"_

_ "No ... but I 'ave seen a ship with black sails."_

_ "Oh, an no ship that's not crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that hell itself spat him back out could possibly 'ave black sails, therefore couldn't possibly be any other ship than _The Black Pearl_, is that what you're saying?"_

_ "Uh ... I'm not sure."_

_ "Like I said," the man continued. "There's no such thing as _The Black Pearl_, or the damn Drelp, got it?" The boat rocked dangerously and the screeching crescendoed until the men had to clamp hands over their ears._

_ Eventually, the little sloop entered the inlet and the screeching waned, the boat stabilized, and the men sighed in relief. They docked in the port, moved the prisoner to the jail, and stayed in the local tavern for the night, toasting to their near escape. The bartender listened to their tale and gave them notable advice._

_ "I would leave as soon as possible tomorrow, and if you see night closing, get ashore, and don't venture until morning. No one will be able to sleep tonight for that Drelp's caught a whiff of you and'll be cryin' in the harbor all night."_

_ His words rang true, for that night, all the town could hear were the lamenting screams from the harbor and the lapping waves broken intermittently by loud splashing._

_ The next morning, the six of them set out early, taking up their songs again, sans prisoner. The night drew close and the woman looked astern. She spoke to her husband. "I think we should head ashore. The night is coming and we've not gotten wind for hours yet. The men will be needing a rest soon and if the Drelp returns ..."_

_ "Maybe," he said, but as the words left his mouth, a strong gust of wind filled the sails and the men cheered, pulling in their oars as the captain gave the order._

_ "We can still make it," he told her. "The wind is in our favor. We'll be home by dark."_

_ They sailed for about an hour and the lights of their seaside village could be seen miles off in the distance. As they drew closer, night fell completely, and consecutively, the wind dropped._

_ The screams began to well up from the water around them, the boat rocking with the sea. The liquid around their little sloop began to bubble and froth as if it were boiling and the woman screamed as something hit the wooden hull. _

_ "The Drelp has returned!" she screeched. "I told you we should have gone ashore. Row, men! Hurry, or we'll never see land again!"_

_ The men obeyed, even though it was she who gave the order and began rowing for their lives, literally. _

_ The screams reached an unbearable peak and water began pouring over the stern, washing over the men in a hot rush of liquid. Then they saw it. Black with the night, seaweed streaming from the place where its head should be. It screeched and grabbed the nearest man, the captain. One of the men from the argument jumped over to help his captain, disappearing below. Neither of the men surfaced and the sea grew calm. They rowed towards shore and just as they were reaching it, the Drelp erupted from the water, splashing the men. The husband took a pistol and shot the thing. The Drelp shrieked and disappeared into the sea once again. _

_ The passengers remaining jumped from the sloop once near enough to land and ran up to the village, leaving the sloop, which keeled over and followed the Drelp below._

Jack straightened up when the man was finished and rubbed his neck. "Interesting tale. Where'd you hear it?"

The man only smiled. "Were you sceered?"

Jack nodded, humoring the man. "Scared, terrified out of my wits. Really frightening."

"You're bein' smart, young brat," the man grunted.

Jack shrugged. "I guess I don't scare that easily." He felt something on his arm. He jumped and gave a shout that sent the man into a fit of laughter. Jack looked at what had touched him and was surprised to find the boys, Tony and Sean.

"How the hell did you get here?" Jack exclaimed.

Sean held up the spoon and Jack cursed.

"We're here to get you out, Jack," Tony told him. "We couldn't just leave."

"How did you know I was here?"

Sean started laughing. "Tony decided to do his history summer work, finally, and just happened, by some trick of fate, to run across your name."

"Many a pirate hung at Gallow's Point," Tony recited. "Names of which a few are known; Rakham, Thatch, Adams, and Sparrow. They had first names, but I couldn't remember them all. We came to get you out and prove the damn history book wrong for once."

Jack smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Tony, Mr. Stupid."

"Hey, buddy," Sean said, shaking his fist at Jack. "The name's Sean Wilson DASH Luckinbill. You better not forget the dash, Mister or I'll kill you dead."

Jack gave an exasperated look. "Why are all you people from the future so strange?"

"Hey, shut up," Tony said.

"I thought you were going to get me out of here?"

"Hold your badger, don't pass a bladder stone," Sean muttered, grabbing the keys from the stone wall farther down the long corridor.

He returned and attempted to unlock the door, the keys rattling like a loud bell. Jack got up and took the keys away, holding the swinging ones still. The door finally opened and Jack stepped out, grabbing his affects from the wall peg.

They glanced around carefully, the old man not even calling out to them as they escaped from the prison.

They ran away from the oppressive place, passing all the extravagant extras in London, not stopping for anything.

That was, until Sean spotted the gates to the Palace.

"Wait, I've always wanted to do this," he said, running up to the stoic officers that stood guard in front of the gates. Tony saw them and followed, Jack standing farther off, watching the show.

"Hey, you," Sean said to the stiff officer in his fuzzy chapeau. "You know who died?" Silence. The man didn't even blink. "Nope. Geraldo!"

Tony giggled and tapped the man. "Hey, have you ever seen jelly roll?" Tony got down on the ground and began rolling around.

"Oh my god!" Sean exclaimed. "It's a beached whale!" He kicked his friend softly but Tony gave a wild shriek, as if he'd hit him hard. Tony picked himself up and attempted to dust off the front of his sweatshirt. The square of fabric on the front had collected more dirt than the rest, making it look like he had a static screen on his stomach.

"You look like a teletubby!" Sean exclaimed. "Lala!"

Jack had laughed softly a few times at the idiocy of the two boys but the officer hadn't budged.

"This isn't working," Tony said. "Maybe we should like ... moon him or something."

"Let's play the penicillin game!" Sean exclaimed, elbowing the officer and giving him a wide grin. The man didn't move and Tony had to put a hand under his nose just to see if he was breathing.

"There are two large cylinders behind me," Sean said seriously, reaching out to the guard. "Let me touch you."

A few patters of rain began and Tony groaned. "This country blows."

"Hey!" Sean exclaimed. "I've got it!" He straightened up and almost started laughing himself. "There's a storm in my pants!"

Tony immediately began laughing hysterically as Sean clutched the seam in his pants and began running around erratically as if his pants were pulling him along. Imagine a balloon, freshly punctured, whizzing around the room, only instead of sputtering sound, Sean was making windy noises and crashes.

Tony was looking at the officer, who was adamantly looking up at the sky. Tony looked back at Sean and died again. His friend was on the ground, growing ever wetter, doing a crude break dancing move, still clutching his pants and making noises. He was attempting to spin around in a hurricane like way but not making much progress. He got up off the ground and began buzzing around again, sideswiping the officer, who actually budged a little.

Sean flew straight at the officer making his storm noises, Tony on his knees and helpless with laughter. As Sean was closing, the officer brought up his large gun and prepped. When the crazy teenager was within a foot of him, he grasped the sighting arm and pulled, the butt of the gun flying out and catching the charging boy ... well ... let's just say it wasn't pretty. Sean fell to the ground, storm abated, and Tony stopped laughing for a moment. He looked over at the limp Sean, took a breath, and burst into a completely new fit of giggles.

Jack had winced when the blow fell. The officer had gone back to his stoic position, just the slightest of smiles curving his lips.

Jack and Tony helped Sean up, Tony still laughing his head off. Suddenly, there were shouts and about twenty guns clicked, the dog heads and hammers being cocked back.

"Well, well," one man said smugly. "Jack Sparrow. How'd you get out this time? Those two by you, I suppose. Well, they'll be joinin' you in your cell this time."

"We're gonna hang?" Tony bellowed.

"No, sir," the man answered. "You'll be held until _he_ is, but we'll let ye out after. You're not important enough to hang."

Sean groaned.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Oh, he's just passing a kidney stone, or maybe giving birth. He's always like that," Tony laughed.

"What's wrong with his hair?"

"Um ... He was born that way. His mother drank too much rum." Jack flinched and looked at Sean's hair.

The soldiers snickered and herded the three back to the jail, Tony still laughing.

…

Gibbs and Anamaria knew that Jack was in jail but hadn't thought up anything on his escape as of yet. Will was pacing again, touching the hilt of his sword every so often. He was worried about Little Will. He was worried about Jack, and most of all, he was worried about Elizabeth.

"Will, stop movin' about," Anamaria implored. "It's not good to do so much of it."

Will stopped and looked at her. She shrugged and left him alone.

"We have to save Jack first," Will announced. "We'll go into town the day of execution and save him like we did last time."

"Last time, we were in Port Royal," Gibbs pointed out. "They had an on duty force of forty men. London has about ten times that amount and they don't have a convenient parapet over the sea."

"We can't leave him," Will continued. "He risked his and Scarlette's life to save Elizabeth and I can do no less to save him. Scarlette is dead because of saving Elizabeth."

"We'll have to sail a bit out into the North Sea, then turn about and run through the English Channel," Gibbs pointed out. "Then it's basically fleeing back to warmer waters from there on out. It's dangerous."

"Scarlette would risk it if she were alive," Will pointed out. "And if she would, odds are Jack would agree."

None of the crew knew of Scarlette still living. Only the future kids and Jack understood that she'd gone back, not been buried at sea.

Gibbs looked reluctantly at Will. "It's against the code—"

"Forget the code!" Will shouted. "Will you hide behind your blasted code when ever the slightest danger shows its head? How can you call yourself men?"

"Very carefully," Bootstrap added. Will turned and looked at his father.

"Father," he pleaded. "Truly you feel we should save Jack."

Bootstrap smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised of that little devil escaped somehow."

"We can't risk that," Anamaria interjected. "We must help him. We can't leave our captain."

"But is it the smartest thing?" Topher added. "To risk all for one?"

"Look at us," Gibbs spat. "List of dead? Laderoc, Crimp, Duncan, Matelot, Finius, Algren, Kursab, and Scarlette, for God's sake. That's a lot of men, Missy. That doesn't even count the sailors Jack brought on after we sunk the first _Opal_. We aren't equipped to going after Jack!"

"No one will know who we are!" Armstrong piped up. "Only Jack and Scarlette are known, and really, in London, only Jack'll be recognized. We can crash their hanging party for sure, if only you've got the guts for it."

"You challengin' me, boy?" Gibbs growled. "I be just as much a man as any of you sailors, ya hear? I'll save Jack, but we need a plan."

"Well, then," Bootstrap said, putting both feet flat on the deck. "Let's get crackin' eh? We've got less than a week."

…

"Who's up next?" the man asked. "Come now, we need numbers up here. Ah yes. You? A group number? Acapella. Ah, all right Miss ... what did you say your name was? Sparrow? Ah, all right."

Scarlette grabbed Elizabeth and the other girls and told them what to expect.

"You'll understand when we get up there. Elizabeth, even you should know this one. I'll start but you guys gotta come in once you know what's going on, okay?"

"I don't wanna go!" Robin exclaimed. "I can't sing!"

"Trust me, you'll do fine, plus," Scarlette added. "Maybe I'll consider telling you what Jack said, eh? All right, let's go!"

Anita, Claudia, Elizabeth, Lizzy, Robin, and Scarlette walked up to the stage, or really, the raised platform. It wasn't really a stage. They were each given microphones and Scarlette quickly explained that Elizabeth was to speak into the thing in her hand when she knew what to do.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen," she began. "This is just a bit of fun. You're welcome to join in if you like. Ready? Here we go!

"_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. _

_ We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot. _

_ Drink up me hearties yo ho._

_ We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot, _

_ drink up me hearties yo ho!_

_ Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me._

_ We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack._

_ Drink up me hearties yo ho._

_ Maraud and embezzle and even hijack! _

_ Drink up me hearties yo ho!_

_ Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me._

_ We kindle and char, flame and ignite,_

_ drink up me hearties yo ho._

_ We burn up the city, we're really a fright. _

_ Drink up me hearties, yo ho!_

_ Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me."_

_ We're rascals, scoundrels, villains and knaves. _

_ Drink up me hearties yo ho._

_ We're devils, we're black sheep, and really bad eggs! _

_ Drink up me hearties yo ho!_

_ Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me._

_We're beggars, we're blighters, we're ne'er do well cads. _

_Drink up me hearties yo ho._

_ Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads, _

_ drink up me hearties, yo ho._

_ Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"_

The crowd was actually screaming for them and the girls took a bow. Everyone was laughing, obviously having fun. Even Scarlette, who'd been in a sort of melancholy state, was smiling. They sat down at their table and Robin grabbed Scarlette's arm.

"Okay, tell me."

"Nope," Scarlette answered.

"You said if I went up there with you guys, you would!"

"No I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No I didn't"

"Yes!"

"Nope."

"Uh, yeah!"

"No way!"

"Cheater!"

"Hey," Scarlette shrugged. "One; we never shook on it. Two; I said "maybe" so it's not my fault if you missed that part, savvy?"

"Stop doing that!"

"What?"

"You're turning into Jack!"

"Oh, I'd say she's long turned," Claudia added, laughing.

"Um, hi," a male voice said. The girls turned to find Tim standing there, a slightly bashful look on his face.

"How may we help you?" Jenny, who had been just as confused lately asked him, glad for a normal human.

"Um ... could I speak to Scarlette for a moment?"

"Sure," Scarlette answered, walking to him. They went off and the girls conversed.

"So ..." Tim began. She looked at him, not a secret in her eyes. "Um ... would you like to go to dinner sometime or something? I didn't really get to know you, but I'd like to."

She smiled at him. "My, that was blunt. You're a bold one, aren't you? I'll think about it. Here," she gave him a number and smiled at him, moving back to her friends.

"Well? What did he want?" Elizabeth asked sternly.

"Nothin' much," Scarlette answered. She shrugged and perked up. "I'm getting tired. I'll be going home soon. Elizabeth can stay with me since I'll be sending her back soon."

"I'm coming too," Robin said. "You two aren't going back without me."

"Or me," Lizzy added. "I'm getting married, remember?"

"Well," Scarlette sighed. "Only one person is going back and that's Elizabeth."

"What—" Anita began. "What about you?"

"Yeah," Lizzy pointed out. "You're married, remember? Or are you going to forget about Jack too, huh? Like you forgot about the last one?"

"Hey," Scarlette said snappishly, turning on Lizzy. "What I do and why I do it is my own business, got it?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Jenny asked. "You're married?"

Scarlette turned to Jenny and sighed. "Yes, Jenny. Sorry you hadn't heard."

"Who are you married to? Is it that one guy?"

"No! Hell—I mean heck no. Never."

"Oh, well then, who?"

"You'd never believe me if I told you."

A phone rang and Scarlette was spared explaining how she ended up with a replica of Johnny Depp for a husband. Anita pulled out her phone and answered it, speaking in Spanish rapidly.

"Well, screw you!" she snapped in English, hanging up on the caller. "Dumbass."

"That must have been your brother," Claudia assessed. "How come he hasn't moved out yet?"

Anita smiled. "You should have seen it the other night. He came home all beat up and wouldn't tell us what happened. It was kind of funny, actually, but a little sad."

Some of the girls laughed, Elizabeth not understanding and Scarlette still too angry.

"Yeah, I guess I gotta go, too," Anita said. "Later."

The girls filtered out, Elizabeth going off with Scarlette, Robin with Lizzy, and Claudia with Anita. Jenny, still confused, went to find her mother, and everyone went home, some more peacefully than others.

…

"You just had to provoke the damn soldier, didn't you," Jack seethed at Sean, who had recovered from earlier. "What possessed you to do that? Now we're stuck in here! And what's more, the key is gone! They took it with them!"

Sean shrugged and scratched his head. "They never did that in the movies. Now what did you say about my hair? Something about rum?"

Tony laughed. "I told them you were born with orange hair because your mom drank too much rum."

"That wasn't true, was it?" Jack asked.

"Nope," Tony laughed. "I mean, a kid can get pretty messed up if the mom drinks while pregnant, but nothing like orange hair. That was just something Sean wanted to do."

Jack sighed. "Thank the lord. For a moment, I was afraid my daughter's hair was going to turn orange."

"You have a kid?" Tony exclaimed. "But ... that means ..."

"Scarlette …." Sean continued, allowing the thought to form in his head. "Naa. She's only eighteen."

Jack had an annoyed look on his face. "What is it?"

"Is Scarlette the mother?" Tony asked innocently. Jack smirked.

"What do you think, boys?" he asked them. "I went and bought a kid? Of course she is, you pair of idiots."

Sean gasped but Tony began working on some new joke. "That gives me an idea! We can come up with an orphan agency, eh Sean? We'll call it 'Jack's Kids'."

"Jaskins?" Sean asked in confusion, not hearing right.

Jack muttered. "You two aren't very intelligent, are you?" The two boys grinned at each other.

"Hey Sean," Tony began. "I'd think after that hit from the guard you'd be considered a eunuch."

"Yes," Sean answered. "I am unique." Jack snorted uncharacteristically.

"Have you given up yet, Jack?" Old Cheese rumbled. "That's the second escape plan that's been foiled."

"I noticed you aren't helping," Tony muttered.

"I'm bored," Sean muttered, tossing a bit of hay.

"Ah, well, I'll tell a story then," Old Cheese said excitedly.

_The tale of the Drelp, Part II_

_ The man and woman were once again back in their little seaside village, living somewhat normally, raising cows and chickens to their heart's content. One day, the man noticed that his grain was getting low._

_ "I'm going to have to go to the next town and buy some more," he told his wife._

_ "Can't that wait a few days?" she asked. "I can feel a storm coming in. You might be stuck out there for days."_

_ "It'll be fine, plus," he added. "If I don't go now when it's not that urgent, what happens when it is urgent, And I can't get through. This way, you'll have a little bit left before I come back."_

_ Reluctantly, she let him go, wishing him good luck. He gave her a special necklace before he left, telling her it would protect her from the evil spirits. He left early the next day and later that night, the storm hit the village. She sat by her hearth, singing the melody she'd sung on the boat. She suddenly remembered the livestock._

_ The woman had gone out to the barn to make sure the cows and chickens were inside and had only been gone for five minutes. Upon her return, she found the door slightly ajar._

_ "Oh, he's back already!" she exclaimed, but a shrieking sound made her stop. She peeked in the door and saw with horror, the Drelp, dripping wetly onto the floor._

_ "I thought you were restrained to water!" she exclaimed, moving around the pot of food she'd had bubbling. She wondered how the thing had found their home. In truth, the Drelp had heard her voice again, singing that song and followed the music to her door when it smelled the food as she left._

_ It reached out for her, its slimy hands dripping into her food. She picked up the broth and flung it over the Drelp, scalding its putrid flesh. As it writhed, she dashed outside and sprinted for the barn, hearing its screech with a frightening shudder._

_ She flung herself into the barn, hiding behind her sleeping cow and covering herself with an old horse blanket._

_ She heard it enter the barn, felt its squishy steps as it moved around the wooden structure, stopping at her stall. She heard the screeches and felt the cow move, but the animal settled and after a few minutes, the Drelp left. She stayed hidden under the blanket all night, just in case it was waiting for her in the house or somewhere else. When the light came through the slats of the barn walls, she threw the blanket off and stood, stretching her cramped limbs. She went to step over the cow and screamed in horror. The main part of the cow's body had been eaten out, the carcass almost hollow, blood washing over the floor. How had she missed the smell, or the noise?_

_ She screamed when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but turned quickly to find her husband, back from his trip. She explained everything to him and he swore never to leave her alone again._

"I don't get it," Tony said. "Was that all?"

"You missed the first part of it," Jack told him. "That was only the last half of the story."

"And the moral of this story, kids," Sean said, joking as usual. "Is buy more than one cow."

Jack and Old Cheese looked at him incredulously.

Claggert in the cell down the hall cleared his throat. "Boy, I'm 'bout ready to kill you and I hardly know you."

Sean swallowed. "Sorry. Just my lot in life, I guess."

"Shut up, Sean," Tony told him.

"Nope, Geraldo."

…

"They're auctioning him off?" Bootstrap exclaimed. "Holy Styrofoam. It figures with that lousy chancellor they got over there. So's all we gotta do is outbid everyone and then, when it comes time to pull the lever, we're all out of there! Easy as pie ... except, who has that kind of money?"

The crew shrugged. Will stood. "I do."

"No," Gibbs said. "That's fer you an' Elizabeth. We'll find another way, don't worry 'bout it."

"Well, technically, Sharon has that kind of money," Anamaria said. "But she's only ... what, two months old? Two and a half? No help there."

They sighed in exasperation. This planning thing was harder than they'd thought.

…

Well, kids, how ya doin'? Oh well. This chapter was ... funny, I suppose. We're windin' down again. This is always kinda sad. It's so much fun while I'm writing it, but as soon as it's over ... it's like watching a movie and then, when it's over, you want to watch it again. I don't know, I'm weird. I'd rather be writing than watching TV, with the exception of Pirates of the Caribbean and some other movies. Speaking of which, I saw Dead Man and the Astronaut's Wife last night. Dead Man was kinda ... pointless, but Johnny Depp was in it. The other one was ... disturbing. You know what I mean if you've seen it. Johnny Depp makes a very scary villain, by the way.

All right, page count. 467 and with glossary ... 484. Yikes. Well, ta, for now.

**Revisited 1-20-07 3:41 am Pg count 661**


	24. Chapter XXIII : Indecision

We drink and drink and drink until we pass out on the floor. And when we wake, we get back up and drink and drink some more! Yo ho, yo ho, a tuba's life for me.

(Hee hee)

A special thanks to Mr. Cook for letting me borrow his CD. It's got practically the whole pirates ride on it, including the queue!

This is the first chapter begun in my apartment!

**Chapter XXIII –Indecision**

Jack was whistling to himself, tossing bits of straw, knowing the day of his execution was drawing nearer. "I'm not gonna make it this time," he groaned.

"Don't say that," Tony told him. He and Sean were in the cell across the way. "We'll get out. Somehow."

"Easy for you to say," Sean muttered. "We don't even have a dog with a key."

"It's not like we can escape again," Tony added. "Not yet. This is like a bad dream come true."

"There be stories fer such things," Old Cheese murmured from his corner.

The men sighed and Old Cheese began another tale.

_The Tale of the Black Lady_

_ There was once a legend. A dark saying that warned travelers of a bleak passage through the mountains. It was said that within the passage, there lived a beautiful but terrifying woman, dubbed the Black Lady. She was really an evil spirit, a demon sent to plague unwary travelers._

_ She would appear to one as a hitchhiker, a weak or sickly woman shrouded in black robes, her face pale and her lips red. She would call out feebly to travelers, begging for a ride._

_ Now, when the traveler helped her into his cart or onto his horse, she would thank him and they would continue on their way without immediate incident. However, not long afterwards, strange things would begin to occur._

_ First, the horses would become extremely giddy, screaming their throaty shouts through the night. The traveler would attempt to restrain them, but once the horses had sensed it, there was no calming them. The next thing he would feel was the heaviness in the air, making it hard to breath. Non magic users can feel the pressure, but not describe it. Most wouldn't know what was coming._

_ He would then feel the eyes of the devil himself, burning a hole into his back. When he turned to see what was looking at him, the woman would pounce, her face so changed that the man could not recognize her._

_ Some say her face was that of a skeleton, or some, an animal's skull. A few even heard tell of a black hole so dark the night seemed bright by comparison, save for two burning red eyes brighter than the stars and hotter than the sun._

_ So travelers said they would never pick anyone up off the road, but it was never that easy. The Black Lady's voice is that of a siren, bringing one to dash themselves at her feet figuratively. No man can resist it._

_ "Bah!" one traveler said as the man behind the counter of a dingy uptown bar told him the tale. "There's no such thing! I've gone past that road many times and I've never been hailed by such a creature."_

_ "Yes," the man answered. "But sir, you've never traveled alone."_

_ "Well, I mean to do that very thing tonight," he told him. "My uncle has a ranch on the other side of the mountain."_

_ "Go around, sir," the man told him. "Do not risk the pass at night alone. Please, sir, or I fear we'll never meet again."_

_ "Oh, don't worry, old man," the traveler said. "I'll be back, and I'll bring you a jug of my aunt's famous lemonade, got it? I'll see you in a week."_

_ The traveler left the pub and went to find his horse. Tethered in the stable, stood his old friend and they left, horse and rider._

_ Later that night, the traveler was coming up to the mountains, the giant mounds of earth and rock looming over him like stony sentries. _

_ He felt the pass on either side of him rather than seeing it. He was deep within the mountains when he heard the weeping. He scanned the dark area but saw nothing._

_ "Hello?" he called. "Who's out there?"_

_ There was no answer but the weeping, which continued without a pause. He shrugged and urged the horse on. The hooves plodded along, the horse moving a bit jerkily as if he were annoyed with his master. The weeping grew fainter as they moved on._

_ Suddenly, there was a shout. The weeping voice was calling him. "Wait! Wait for me! Help, I need your help! Please!"_

_ The man turned back and rode in the direction of the voice. He could see her now, her white face turned up to the road, her lips dark against the pallor of her skin. _

_ "Hello, young woman," he said, as he dismounted. "Why are you out here all alone?"_

_ "I am looking for my brother," she cried. "He came here last night and hasn't returned. I think the Black Lady has gotten him! Oh, my! I should not have spoken her name. Now she will come for us!"_

_ "Nonsense," the man told her. "Get on my horse. I will take you to my uncle's house and tomorrow, we will search for your brother, when we can see."_

_ She nodded and allowed him to lift her onto the horse. She weighed almost nothing and he lifted her easily. The horse showed some discomfort, but he was like that near all strangers. The traveler got on in front of her and urged the horse onward. The animal began stubbornly chewing on his bit, but moving nonetheless._

_ They plodded on for another hour when the horse began to pick up pace, the steady metronome of its hooves accelerating._

_ "The Black Lady is coming," she whispered behind him. "The horse can sense her."_

_ "He just knows we're nearing home. The Black Lady doesn't exist any more than _The Flying Dutchman_ does."_

_ "Both exist, sir, I assure you."_

_ "Whatever you say. We're almost there."_

_ The horse whinnied and started cantering. The man tried to rein him in but the animal refused to adhere. Suddenly, he felt as if he were being slowly strangled. The air was thick around him and it hurt going down his throat. The atmosphere about him felt heated, as if he were surrounded by sunlight._

_ The horse gave a whinny and reared up, almost spilling the riders. It took off at a grueling gallop and the man hung on for dear life, hoping the woman behind him was all right._

_ He felt as if he were being watched, the place between his shoulder blades itching severely. He turned to look around, the horse running swiftly, making him use both hands to hang on. He saw the woman behind him and his heart froze_

"Let me guess," Sean said. "It looked like Tony, right?"

"_Tais-toi, merde tête_," Tony told him in crude French.

"What did you call me? Shit head? Who taught you that?"

_ Her face was rotted away, protruding like that of a horse. It looked as if a horse's skull sat on her shoulders, the eye sockets blacker than the night around and at the same time, burning hotter than the flames of hell._

_ He tried to scream but the thing grabbed at him with bony fingers, tearing and bruising his flesh with her claws. He turned away and spurred the terrified animal farther. He could see the lights of his uncle's house just a few hundred yards away. Could he make it?_

_ The horse suddenly faltered, its legs breaking from under it, spilling both its master and the demon to the road. The man shouted as her hands found his face._

_ Suddenly, there were shouts and torches could be seen coming towards them. The Black Lady let him go and raced back into the night with a cackle._

_ The man's uncle and cousins found him, nearly unconscious, his horse dead beside him. _

_ "What happened, man?" one of them asked, shaking him._

_ "The Black Lady!" The man exclaimed, pushing him away. "I've seen her! She is still out there!"_

_ The men laughed at him as they pulled him off the ground. "You've had a bit too much to drink, boy. The Black Lady doesn't exist."_

_ "Yes she does."_

_ "No, she doesn't"_

_ "Yes she does, I've seen her!"_

_ "You've seen her?"_

_ "Yes, I have."_

_ "You've seen a white woman with black robes, with blood red lips, and a voice to lure anyone from their task?"_

_ "No," the man told him, not remembering the voice due to the spell she cast._

_ "Exactly," the other man told him._

_ "But I have seen a white woman in black robes,"_

_ "Oh, and no woman that doesn't have blood red lips and a voice to lure the most steadfast man from his work could possibly have black robes, therefore couldn't possibly be any other woman than the Black Lady, is that what you're saying?"_

_ "Oh, shut your mouth," the man said angrily. "I saw her, she rode on my horse, which is dead, for those of you who failed to notice."_

_ "Like I said," one said. "He's had too much to drink. The Black Lady is a story made up to frighten children, nothing more."_

Old Cheese stopped to breathe.

"What did that have to do with us escaping?" Jack snapped a bit peevishly.

"The Black Lady was said to have an insurmountable kill ratio until that man passed her way."

"So what are you saying?" Tony asked. "That we still have a chance?"

"There's always a chance," the man told him smiling.

…

Estrella rushed into the room where the children were being kept and began changing their cloths. Will was screaming, as usual, and Sharon was eyeing the other kid. Will was old enough to sit up and shake the bars of his crib where as Sharon would roll over onto her stomach and stare at everyone with her little kitty cat eyes. She allowed Estrella to pick her up but gave a little squawk when the maid went to change her. The child's hair had fallen out and come back, still dark as night. She was an ornery little thing, almost as bad as Will. Will was older, of course, and knew what would get him what, but Sharon wasn't kept from getting what _she _wanted.

Right now, she wanted daddy, but that wasn't exactly possible. She was just old enough to begin making impressions and the two things she remembered most were the beads in Jack's hair and the emerald around Scarlette's neck. She liked to play with hanging ornaments and Estrella didn't give her much imagination. The maid's garments were plain and not even her hair hung down where the child could reach.

Will saw Estrella taking care of Sharon first and he got angry. "Me! Me!" He wasn't actually speaking about himself … me was just one syllable he enjoyed to shout loudly, usually at passing adults.

Estrella giggled and put Sharon back once she was clean. Sharon sat against the side of the crib and stared while Estrella wrestled the squalling Will into his new clothes. By the time Estrella had turned around, Sharon had slipped down to her stomach again.

Jadent, the only one in the house, minus the employed servants and such, was terribly bored. His manor had been saved when Governor Swann caught wind of it and so there was no need to rush back off to London but Jadent wished he were at home. There was just noting to do! The Turners were away, The Sparrows as well, and all the other girls had left with them. There was no one to talk to, as he saw it. And what's more, there were two squalling children in the room down the hall.

If ever a man was unhappy, it was he, was Jadent. He decided he would go home. He began making arrangements with someone in town.

…

Elizabeth woke upon Scarlette's futon with a start. It was late in the day, about two in the afternoon. She would have continued sleeping except the phone was ringing. She stared at the contraption with wide eyes, clutching the wool blanket Scarlette had provided to her chest.

Scarlette came into the room and picked up the phone, answering the caller without a glance to Elizabeth. "Hello? Oh, hi. Yes, I remember. When? Well ... I don't know, maybe tonight. Sure. Later." She hung up the phone and turned to Elizabeth, who still looked shocked.

"What's wrong?"

"What—is that thing!"

"A telephone," Scarlette explained. "It's like talking through the wires. Instant communication. It saves much more time than writing a letter."

"Who was it?"

"No one important. Just a friend."

In fact, Scarlette wouldn't tell her, but it had been the boy from the other night, Tim.

What was she doing, might you ask? Well, first, she was attempting to forget what had happened. She was afraid of what Jack said, she wasn't sure why. Maybe because he was the last person she ever expected to say it. She shook it off. She knew he'd meant it but she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

She blinked and took in a deep breath, refusing to think about it. Elizabeth was staring at her strangely.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked her. "You look shaken."

"Nothing," Scarlette answered. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

"When are we going back?"

"You're going back whenever you want."

"What about you?"

"Me? Maybe I'm not going back."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped. "But you have to!"

Scarlette shook her head. "No. Trust me, there's a reason, several in fact."

"Like what?" Elizabeth demanded.

"Well ... I can't really explain," Scarlette answered. '_Like the fact that I'm afraid of my own heart, I have a kid, and by the way, I'm not married_,' she thought to herself.

Elizabeth looked angry, her brows knitted together in a scowl. She pouted at Scarlette and got up off the futon, the oversized Newcastle Brown Ale shirt she wore to bed falling over her legs.

"You can't stay here, Scarlette," she told her softly. "Jack is—"

"Jack is just fine without me," Scarlette told her. "He's probably better off."

Elizabeth gripped her shoulders and shook her slightly. "What are you talking about? What did he say before you left? Is that why you're acting like this?"

Scarlette rounded on her. "What I do is my own business. You want to know what he said? Fine, I'll tell you. I'll tell you word for bloody word what he said." She turned to face the wall, running a finger down the wooden frame of a picture.

" _'You will know. I will tell you. I did say it. And I meant it. I still mean it. I love you. I didn't want to love you, I tried desperately not to love you, even tried to push you away. But I found that it's not something you can get rid of easily. I'm stuck, and now, I hate myself for dragging you into this. You may not love me, but I do, so much.' _Those were practically his exact words."

Elizabeth breathed loudly. Then, her face twisted angrily. She moved over to Scarlette, whirled the smaller girl around, and hit her across the face. Scarlette was more surprised than hurt. She put a hand to her face and looked Elizabeth in the eye. "You never once slapped Jack but you'd hit me?"

"Jack obviously has a heart which is more than I can say for you," Elizabeth exclaimed, her face twisted with anger, those full lips cruel. "How can you possibly say you are staying here after he said that to you? How can you think he'll be fine! He's probably being torn up from the inside out right now!"

Scarlette didn't answer. She sighed and went into her room, coming back with the broken sword. "You're going back."

"Not without me," a muffled voice exclaimed. The door opened somehow (damn crummy locksmiths) and Robin and Lizzy entered mischievously.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Scarlette asked slightly angrily.

"Long enough," Robin smiled. "So, why exactly are you not going back after he said all _that_?"

"Are you insane?" Lizzy exclaimed. "How can you want to stay here when you've got him there waiting for you?"

"I don't expect any of you to understand," Scarlette told them. She didn't understand herself.

Robin turned to Elizabeth and said almost jokingly. "You should have hit her harder. She's not thinking right."

"I can hit her again if you want," Elizabeth offered.

"You're being stubborn again, Ryoko," Lizzy said. "What are you afraid of?"

Scarlette moved away from all of them, her face angry. "I'm not afraid of anything, dammit. What I do is my business, not yours. Here." She flung the sword down. "Go on, take the damn sword. It should take you to _the Pearl_. Good luck, Lizzy. I'll be at your wedding. Robin, have fun with Topher, and Elizabeth ... take care." She sat down and scrutinized them, her arms crossed. "Well, come now, we don't have all day. Pick up the sword, Lizzy."

"Not unless you're coming with us, Ryoko."

Scarlette looked at her. "Well, then I guess you'll be standing in my living room forever. I'm not leaving. Go live your dream lives, with your dream men. Make sure Sharon doesn't grow up to be a ninny."

"Make sure yourself," Robin growled. "She's your daughter."

Scarlette winced. "I know." She whispered the last. "Go. I cannot go with you, but know this. We will see each other again. Goodbye."

Lizzy looked at her sadly and gripped the golden hilt of the sword. "Now everyone grab a hold. That's right. Bye, now."

And with a pop, they were gone and Scarlette was alone. Her shoulders hunched and she cried.

…

Jack was tossing stones now, getting better and better at hitting the sleeping man down the hall. He'd landed quite a few stones in the convict's open mouth, the rocks clicking against his teeth painfully. The man still hadn't come awake.

"Jack," Tony said from his cell. "Do you think Scarlette will come and save us?"

Jack stopped tossing stones and sighed. "Perhaps."

"I'm surprised she hasn't come yet," Sean added. "After what you told her, I would have thought her to be back immediately." He sat up and looked over at the pirate. "You really meant it right?"

Jack just looked at him, considering him with his dark eyes. "I did."

"Then she'll be coming, right?" Tony asked. "She's gotta come! Women eat that stuff right up! She won't be able to resist!"

Jack smiled and turned back to tossing stones. "The thing is boys, she doesn't know about us being in jail. I think she's givin' me a bit o' payback. I probably deserve it. And you must remember, Scarlette isn't like other women, else I would not be in this situation."

"Hey!" Tony exclaimed. "I can't believe I never thought of this!" He pulled out the golden spoon, still covered slightly in a grimy film of blood.

"Holy badger!" Sean shouted, sitting up and grabbing the spoon. "We can all go back!"

"Assuming we can all reach," Jack added. Tony and Sean were in a cell across the hall, the walkway in between wide enough to allow one man to walk down the center without being hit by prisoners.

"We can try," Sean said, moving up against the bars. He stuck his arm out, holding the spoon. Jack moved up to the bars and reached out as well. Jack's fingers barely came within three inches of the spoon.

"Stretch more," Jack groaned and Sean tried. They gained half a centimeter but there wasn't any reaching it.

Sean pulled back and Tony tried but his arm wasn't much longer. Tony brought it back and stuck it in his shoe. He stuck his leg through the bars but the vertical poles were not spaced wide enough for him to get past his mid thigh. Jack still couldn't reach it at the same time. Tony began to pull back and the spoon fell from his laces, clattering on the floor right in the center of the corridor. Both sides looked at the spoon. Neither could reach it now.

Tony started making crying sounds as Sean tried to reach the spoon.

After about half an hour of laborious stretching and moving, Sean had the spoon.

"You two go back," Jack told them. "Talk to Scarlette. If she wants to come, she'll come."

"Why don't you go, Jack?" Tony told him. "We're not in danger."

"He can't," Sean answered. "He can't survive in the future alone. Look at him! No matter where he goes they'll be all over him! Since he doesn't know where she is, he'll never stand a chance of finding her. We at least can use the usual modes of finding someone."

Tony nodded. "How do we know where she is? She might be in California, or Oregon, or in Mexico for all we know."

"Think about her as you activate the spoon," Jack told them. "You should land in her vicinity."

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. Both grabbed the spoon and a few seconds later, there was a popping sound.

Jack smiled to himself and recommenced tossing the stones.

…

Scarlette walked to the school to visit a few old teachers and debated whether going to the band room. She knew their camp was going on now and shrugged. What the hell, why not?

She walked up the familiar hallway and stood in the small corridor that separated the band room from the sidewalk outside. She could see in the doorway and over half the faces were new ones. She was pleased to see six tubas in the back row but a bit angry to find all of them sitting down. Bunch of sissies, the lot of 'em. She grinned as three of them saw her, their eyes widening.

She gave a finger wave and looked at the podium where the director was standing, waving his arms about. She was suddenly confused. It was Mr. Holiday, but he had resigned. His last year there had been hers as well. What was he doing there? She peeked in the office window and saw the new guy. Holiday must have been called in as a guest conductor.

Oh, well. Scarlette was happy when he told them to break for sectionals. Scarlette went to the back door and met her old section.

"Ryo!" Katie exclaimed. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Around," Scarlette replied. "Holiday must be a guest, eh?"

"Yeah," Chris, a red headed Bart Simpson freak agreed. "Bastard. I still hate his guts. You know what the funny thing is? When he came in the room and didn't see you back with us, he flipped out! He thinks you've quit!"

"Well it serves him right," Scarlette answered. "It wasn't really my choice to leave, but I'll let him think what he will. That's what he gets for compromising one player for another. Although, I'd say it's a good thing he did, really. It all worked out in the end."

(Explanation; Scarlette was section leader her sophomore year and tried out for the following year. Daniel, the current leader, had been ready to quit the section for an easier one but Holliday offered him her job to keep him in the section. Daniel accepted and Scarlette was set aside. Scarlette had not found this out until speaking with Daniel about it. It worked out in the end because she ended up being stuck in the past anyways.)

"Are we still in the U-Hall?" Scarlette asked. The tubas nodded and she followed them back towards the end of the school.

They were well underway with Daniel leading, Scarlette watching and making him nervous, when he turned to her. "You wanna lead, Ryoko?"

She blinked. "Sure, why not. It's been ... over a year, but I'll try. What's your show?"

"_Pirates of the Caribbean_," Chris told her and she hit herself over the head.

"How could I have missed it?" she exclaimed. It showed how distracted she'd been not to have recognized even the bass parts to _Pirates_. "All right, kids. This better be really good. I know that movie backwards, forwards, inside out, upside down, etc ... you get the picture. Let's start at the Medallion Calls, eh?"

"How do you know our music?" Katie asked. "You haven't been here in like … forever."

"Trust me," Scarlette told her. "Okay, let's go." She led them for about fifteen minutes, making several mistakes due to not having done any of it for a year.

There were voices down the hall and Scarlette stopped, turning to see Holiday walking down the corridor. He obviously decided to make rounds on the separate sections to check their progress.

"Ryoko? What are you doing here?"

"I'm visiting my friends," she told him snappishly, not looking at her former teacher. "As well as checking up on my section, no matter that I'm not in it anymore."

"Why did you quit?" he asked her in a careful voice. "You could come and play at my college. You're a great player, you know. There aren't many who can make the tuba sound that good, especially when they're your size."

"You know," she told him, still not looking at him. "I think it's a bit funny that you try to butter me up to get me to come and be your route of the chord but the thing is, maybe it's _your _fault I quit. Ever thought of that?"

He swallowed and looked at Daniel. The boy shrugged and looked away.

"You see," she continued, finally looking at him with the cool indifference she'd taken from Jack. "When you discarded me, you never ever thought that I would quit. Poor Ryoko, whose whole life resides in music. She won't quit even if I stab her in the back, figuratively speaking of course. Well guess what? You blew it big time. I hope you're happy. I'll be going now. By guys. Have fun, and don't forget what we went over." The last was said to the other tuba players as Holiday tried to rally his forces and come back with something.

"You can't speak to me that way, young lady. I am an instructor. I demand an apology!" Holiday growled, his face reddening as he walking after her. She whirled around and faced him, her black rimmed eyes seemingly dangerous.

"Oh?" she challenged. "I'm not a student of yours anymore, nor am I a student of this school or this program, understand? I am an adult, younger than yourself, but one nonetheless. I owe you no respect, sir. In fact, for what you've done, you should be apologizing to me, not the other way around. As far as I'm concerned, you're not fit to wipe the grime off my shoes. Good-day, Holiday." She turned abruptly and walked off, leaving the tubas alone with the gawking teacher. The tubas had much trouble stifling their giggles as she left.

Well, break time was definitely interesting. The tubas had fun telling the entire band the story, or the ones who had been under Holiday, mostly the juniors and seniors. Jenny Hall as laughing uncontrollably and David Miranda, a small drummer shook her hand vigorously. He hated Holiday with a passion due to unfair accusations on Holiday's part. David had spent many a class period outside due to Holiday's conclusions.

Even the preppies who had not given Scarlette the slightest smile while she'd been in the program smiled at her. We are all united under a common cause, methinks.

Scarlette sat behind her section (who, at the knowledge of her presence stood and didn't sit) until the practice ended. She then walked home amidst calls of goodbye and the like. Nothing like a heated battle of words against a common foe to bring the masses together.

When she got to her apartment, she opened the door to find her machine blinking rapidly. She hit the button and listened to the messages.

The first one was from Anita. "Heya, Ryoko … I was just callin' to ask you a question. Are Robin and Lizzy gone? I tried calling Lizzy but her phone just rang. I guess you're not there, or you'd have picked up by now. Bye."

The second was from some machine-recorded voice. She deleted it before even hearing the point. The last one was from Tim. "Well, you said to call … but I guess you're not there. I'm calling to tell you I'll be there at six thirty. Well, see ya then. Bye."

She looked at the clock. It was already five thirty. She grimaced and made a break for the bathroom. Turning on the faucets in her shower, she stripped and jumped in without ceremony, washing her hair quickly.

She wrapped it in a towel to dry and went about finding clothes to wear. She opened her closet and began to dig about. She thought she saw something near the back and reached for it, pulling it off the hanger. The cloth spilled over her hand and when she had it in sight, she sighed. It was one of Jack's shirts.

The fabric was soft and rough at the same time and had little holes in places where it had torn or caught on something. She brought the cloth up to her face and breathed in the scent, which wasn't much other than downy softener. She opened her eyes, realizing what she was doing and tossed the shirt on a chair, shaking her head. The towel came unraveled, falling to the floor. She bent to pick it up and lost her balance, stepping on a remote control that was lying on the floor. Her stereo blinked to life and the 5-CD turntable made a noise as it searched for the right CD. As she moved off the remote, she accidentally hit the fast forward button.

The song that issued from the speakers caught her by surprise. It was Track 02, The Medallion Calls, Pirates of the Caribbean. (For those who don't know, this is the song for Jack's grand entrance, when he's coming into Port Royal on the sinking boat). She sighed again and moved to the bathroom, tossing the towel down. It hit the cord of the curling iron and the thing began to slip from the sink. She went to catch it, not thinking it was on.

Unfortunately, the socket was attached to the light switch, which had been on the entire time. As the iron fell, she reached out to catch it. The metal swiped across her arm, burning her skin instantly. She cried out and blew on the burn, attempting to subdue the pain.

She ran into the kitchen and put ice on her arm. As she dabbed the red welt, she blinked in pain. She remembered the burn on her arm and looked to her bare shoulder. She then remembered how Jack had to have_ his_ arm cauterized because of the chopstick. She gritted her teeth and pushed the pirate from her mind. She tied a wet bandage over her arm and went to get dressed.

She chose a black shirt, as usual, and gold hoops for earrings. The shirt was a flowing renaissance style blouse that she tied a theatrical black girdle over, still looking vaguely piratical. Black pants and knee high boots completed the outfit. She then began looking for a necklace to wear. She wasn't sure where her jewelry was. She began looking around her closet, searching in vain.

As she opened one of her drawers and dug around, the bandage came off painfully. She went to dab at the burn again and gasped.

By some cruel twist of the iron, ironically (no pun intended) the burn looked vaguely like a P. Unlike Jack's, it would heal, but still, it was a bit unnerving. She shook her head and laughed bitterly. Track 03 was playing now, _The Black Pearl_.

"I wonder if he's arranging this," she muttered to herself, then she blinked and a single tear fell from her eye to fall upon her knee. She moved her leg and found something below it.

It was a bright green stone that glittered in the light of the room, set in a gold backing. It swung on a golden chain.

Scarlette blinked at her tears and held the emerald in front of her.

"I ruined it," she hissed at the vibrant green gem, as if it were alive. "Now I can't go back. It's too late."

The emerald swung around on its chain, twisting in circles so she could see the back. The gold was engraved with a sparrow and she caught the dangling charm suddenly and brought it close to her eye.

The sparrow! The lines of the bird were dark! She smiled broadly and grasped the emerald. She disappeared with a plopping noise, her stereo still playing.

The lines had been dark with blood, both hers and Barbossa's.

…

Tony and Sean arrived at about the same time Tim did and all three puzzled at the unresponsive apartment. Tim whipped out his cell phone and called her number, the phone inside jangling. No one picked up. There was music playing inside and the boys listened at the door. Sean tried the knob but found it locked.

"Do you have a knife?" Tony asked. Tim nodded and gave it to him. Tony inserted the blade between the jamb and the door and popped it open.

"Well, that was easy," Tony commented as they entered the apartment. There was clothing strewn all over, an old shirt hung over a chair, a red blouse on the floor, a wet towel in the bathroom. The stereo was blaring out a fast paced orchestrated song with lots of percussion and loud brass. Tony knew he'd heard it somewhere and realized it was the song from the Moonlight Serenade, the skeleton scene. He stopped the stereo and looked at the other two men.

If they had been five minutes earlier, they would have found her, but it was too late. She wasn't there.

Tim looked around, confused. "What is going on? Who are you guys?"

Sean and Tony traded glances and nodded. Sean stepped forward.

"We're sorry old chap, but you can't remember any of this."

Tony grinned and joined his friend. "We're going to have to kill you."

Tim frowned and pulled his knife out. Sean and Tony grimaced and put their hands up. "Geez, we were just kidding … we'll talk!"

…

"She's alive!" Elizabeth told Will. "We can get her and she can save him! She can outbid them."

"But we all saw her die," Gibbs argued. "You weren't there."

"And you weren't where we were either!" Elizabeth cried.

"She sent us back!" Robin exclaimed. "How do you explain this?" She brandished the shattered sword.

"But—" Topher began. Robin pounced on him.

"You believe us, don't you?"

"Yes, David," Lizzy added to her man. "You've got to believe us."

"Will?" Elizabeth said, batting her eyelashes. "Can we go get her?"

"There'll be no need for that," a familiar voice said. Everyone turned to see Scarlette at the top of the stairs in front of the captain's quarters. She'd appeared in the cabin and put Jack's coat on, fastened the emerald around her neck, and shaken her hair out.

"Barbossa was right," Gibbs muttered huskily. "You two just don't die, do ya?"

"Be ye an angel?" Anamaria asked incredulously.

"I assure you," Scarlette told her, coming down the stairs. "We're both human. Now, we're going to need a plan to get this done. What did you say about bidding?"

…

"No more stories, Cheese," Jack told him. "I'm not in the mood for anymore. How about I tell _you_ a story."

"Very well," Old Cheese grunted. "I'm for it. What be it about?"

Jack smiled. "Escape."

{FLASHBACK}

_"Damn," Jack cursed._ _"One would think I'd be safe here." The Spanish navy had followed him to Tortuga._

_ He was running throughout the crowded streets, the Spanish men, dressed a bit like French Zuoaves, shouting and chasing him as he dodged both men and women out for his neck._

_ He tripped over a goat that darted into his path and fell headfirst into the well in front of the pub. The Spanish ran by without so much as a glance to the well._

_Jack sighed in relief, but unfortunately, he was stuck. Oh, he could move just fine, but the opening of the well was a good fifteen feet above his head. He was chest deep in water and his feet hadn't touched the bottom. He was cut up from the walls, covered in slime, and completely drenched, having landed head first in the water._

_He began trying to shimmy up the shoot by "walking" up the side while his back scraped the other. His shirt was torn within minutes and his back began to ache. Perfect timing, for someone tossed in the bucket, knocking him in the head. He shouted and fell the rest of the way down._

"_What? Who's down there?" a female voice asked urgently._

"_Nobody but us chickens," Jack groaned. "Help me out, please, if ye can that is. You might need to go get help."_

"_What're you sayin'?" she asked a bit angrily. "I can pull you out of there meself, whoever you are. Hang on." Jack grabbed hold of the bucket and rope and he felt her begin to heave him out. He aided her by walking up the side as well and soon he was out of the well, still wet, covered in foul smelling liquid, his shirt gone, and his back bloodied. _

_He stepped out of the well and stretched painfully. "Thanks very much." He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She had large black eyes, a creamy cocoa colored skin and straight black hair. She was about his height, if not taller._

"_Come with me," she demanded of him. "I'll treat your wounds. Hurry, there's not much time before the soldiers come back."_

"_I assume you recognize me," Jack commented._

"_Of course," she answered. "Your posters have been up for quite a while now."_

"_Whoa, whoa," Jack said, stopping. "How do I know you're not going to turn me in, eh?"_

_She just looked at him. "I give ye me word on it. You'll not be harmed by me."_

_Jack nodded and they started walking again. It was amazing how much store people put in one another's 'word' in those days._

_They arrived in a wooden house near the shore and Jack was submitted to being washed down first. The woman prepared some water for him and he washed outside, shielded by a sheet._

_He was then allowed to come in the house, where she loaned him some clothes. They were about the same size since she thought corsets were a bunch of rubbish and wore pants usually anyways. She looked at his back and a gash on his head and cleaned them both, her fingers making him wince more than the rum she poured on them._

"_What's your name?" Jack asked her. She looked up at him, her dark eyes taking in the light. _

"_Johnson," she told him. "Anamaria Johnson."_

"_Thank you, Miss Johnson," Jack told her. "One, for getting' me out of that bloody well. Two, for cleanin' me up. Three, fer lettin' me stay."_

_She nodded and showed him a place to sleep. She stayed a while and they became friends, drinking together and telling stories. He was 31, she was 26. It was just before the story of the movie started._

"_And so, he left me to die!" Jack roared. "Bloomin' idiot, he be, not makin' sure I was gone. I'll be getting' me ship back, an' then ye can come on and be in me crew."_

_They moved towards each other, their faces drawing nearer and right before they met, Jack passed out, falling into her lap. She giggled and took another swig of rum, conking out herself._

_The next day, they went fishing in her sloop, watching the Spanish ship in the harbor. The soldiers were still combing the village but Jack wasn't there. He laughed as the Spanish men ran all over, searching out the pirate._

_Later that day, he slipped into his clean clothing and his mended shirt, happy to be out of Anamaria's clothing, which hung oddly on him for some reason. _

_Just as he was pulling his hat onto his head, he heard the door crash open and rapid Spanish being spoken. He grabbed his things and jumped out the window. _

_Running down the street and trying to avoid the Spanish eyes that sought him out, he rushed to the shore where he tossed his things into Anamaria's sloop and let out the sails, cutting the dock line._

_The small sloop took off at a nice speed, as the wind was strong that day. He had cleared Tortuga's harbor within fifteen minutes._

_Of course, by the time he reached his destination, the sloop, not built for heavier waters, wore through and as he was passing the cay into Port Royal, and, well, you know the rest._

{END FLASHBACK}

"The next time I saw Anamaria," Jack told the man. "She hit me so hard I saw stars."

"Hell, I woulda shot ya," the man down the hall muttered. "Oh, yech. I swallowed a brace o' rocks!" Jack fought to keep a straight face as Claggert attempted to expel the rocks. "How'd I do that?"

"Beats me," Jack muttered as Old Cheese laughed his nasty head off.

…

"You idiot!" Tony exclaimed as he fished out the spoon. "How could you do that?"

"What are you talking about?" Tim exclaimed. "I saw a dirty spoon, I washed it! What more can a guy do? I don't believe you about the time travel, anyway. It's a load of crap! And don't give me that 'then how did she disappear' thing again. This is LA. People disappear all the time."

Tony's arm vanished to the elbow in a sink full of sudsy water. Scarlette's sink had been full of dishes and Tim, for lack of something better to do, had decided to wash them. Sean had left the spoon on the counter and Tim had assumed it was part of the load. When Tony began looking for the spoon, asking Sean where he'd put it, he caught sight of the other boy washing dishes.

"Aha!" Tony exclaimed, pulling out the spoon. The gold shone through, unhindered by anything and his face fell.

"It's all gone!" Tony exclaimed. He threw the spoon at Sean, hitting the other boy in the forehead. He then turned and started shouting at Tim. "Look at what you've done, you idiot! You're a disgrace to badgers worldwide! You should be shot."

"What did I do?" Tim asked. "It was just a spoon!"

"That spoon might have saved Jack's life!" Sean exclaimed, standing to back Tony. "What's wrong with you? Don't you know you're not supposed to mess with other people's spoons?"

…

"And he was never seen again," Old Cheese concluded yet another supposedly horrific story about a boy who played a flute to call monsters to his aid. It ended with the boy being taken by his own monsters.

Jack was sitting against the wall with his hat over his eyes, dozing. Claggert had taken his turn at tossing stones over at the pirate but his aim was nowhere near as good as Jack's had been.

"Don't you ever get tired of horror stories?" Jack asked sleepily, brushing his cheek where a rock had hit him. He picked up a small stone, put it between the pad of his thumb and the nail of his middle finger, and flicked it at the other man without looking. The man clutched his eye and howled.

"It's your turn anyway," Old Cheese muttered. "I want to know how you met ol' Gibbs."

"Na," Jack answered. "It's not a very good story."

"Come on!"

"Fine, all right. But there'll be no complainin' when I'm done."

{FLASHBACK}

_ Jack, strangely devoid of facial hair, was hanging around Spittlefield, Jamaica, a town northward of Port Royal. He like it here because the British navy wasn't so concentrated. He was 24 and had begun his search for answers on the Black Pearl Barbossa had gotten away with it but Jack was determined to get his ship back, even if he had to kill to do so._

_He was lounging at a table in Spittlefield when an unlikely man walked into the pub. It was a sailor, the uniform that of a British ships crew. Obviously, this man needed a drink badly enough to come here._

_Jack drew back into the crowd unobserved and watched the sailor for a while. The man had a very bad drinking problem and Jack felt inclined to take his hat off to the man. The sailor had a very high tolerance for rum._

_Later on in the night, a man in white trousers, his blue coat brocaded nicely, his dark hair tied neatly under a tri cornered hat entered the pub and clapped the man's shoulder. It was a younger Norrington._

"_Time to go, Mr. Gibbs," the man told him. "You were supposed to be on _The Dauntless _an hour ago for duty. You slip up again and we'll be leaving you here, understand?"_

"_Aye, lieutenant," Gibbs slobbered and allowed himself to be dragged from the pub. Jack smiled, curious, and followed them. He saw the giant ship they entered and, being a rookie at the business of piracy, was awed. He knew better than to try boarding but was nonetheless humbled by the Man o' War._

_He returned to the pub to have another drink._

_Well, by the time the next British officer entered the pub, Jack had the place in a loud brawl. _

_He had jumped upon a table, well drunk. "Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. Yo ho, ho and a bottle of rum!"_

"_Shut yer yap, young'un," an old angler snapped. "This not be the place fer such songs."_

"_Drink and the Devil had done for the rest," Jack continued. "Yo ho, ho and a bottle of rum._

_The mate was fixed by the bosun's pike,_

_The bosom brained with a marlinspike_

_And cookey's throat was marked belike_

_It had been gripped by fingers ten;_

_And there they lay, all good dead men,_

_Like break o'day in a snoozing den_

_Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum."_

"_I be 'bout ready to bust your mealy mouth in, boy," another groaned._

"_Now, why would you want to do that?" Jack asked bluntly. "I mean, I would assume the man beside you would be more deserving for such an act. He cheated you out of eight shillings, you know."_

"_Is this true, ya filthy lubber?" the man asked of his companion. He took the man's shivering silence to heart and backhanded the man. The two began brawling and Jack looked around the room, his eyes falling on the first old man who'd spoken._

"_I don't know if you're aware of this or not," Jack told him. "But your rum's been distilled quite a bit by the man behind the bar, it be. Just thought you'd like to know." Well, that comment got _everyone_ upset. Four men hopped over the bar, one setting a goat on the counter, and they began to thrash the keeper. _

"_And you," Jack said to a young man whose wife hung at his elbow. "You know that filthy bilge rat you shouted at this mornin'? Well, he been toyin' with yer wench, he been. Quite sore to hoist his colors on yer maiden, though she put him off."_

_The man's face turned a bright purple and he turned to find a man across the room who'd paled. The man flung himself across the room as the woman looked confused._

"_And you'll be sure," he told another. "That yer neighbor been stealin' from ya, sure as day." He continued to 'inform' the men about each of their mishaps until the entire room was full of brawling men, beating the living daylights out of each other._

_Jack yanked up a chair and sat peacefully upon it, the table beneath the chair, elevating him as if he were a king. He sipped his rum and watched as the men beat each other to a living pulp._

_About half an hour later, a certain Lieutenant Norrington entered the brawling pub and fired his pistol into the air. The men all stopped beating the Irish out of each other, looked at him with big eyes, and put their hands in the air._

"_Who is responsible for starting all this?" he asked sternly. Almost every man glanced at their opponent, turned around and pointed at Jack, who was still sitting on his 'throne' above all._

_Norrington smiled shortly. "Well, sir. You've just been issued an arrest. Come quietly and we might be inclined to pardon your misdeeds._

_Jack gave him a drunken gaze. "What've I done?"_

"_You've disturbed the peace of Spittlefield," Norrington told him. "And probably more than that. Come, come." Norrington motioned for him to step down but Jack didn't move. A few men jumped to the table and pulled him down to the Lieutenant._

_Norrington clapped the irons over Jack's hands and dragged him off to _The Dauntless _where the pirate was locked in the brig._

"_Bloody Hell," a voice growled at the stairs. A round man came stumbling down the steps. "Why do I have to do bilgy so late at night! Blasted Norrington got a stick the size o' Belgium up his arse." Gibbs stopped when he saw Jack. "Who're you?"_

"_Me" Jack stated, grandly. "I be Captain Jack Sparrow. You?"_

"_You're Jack?" Gibbs exclaimed, then looked around as if he was afraid of being heard. "We's been lookin' fer you."_

"_How 'bout this," Jack started. "Since we both be finding Norrington objectionable, how 'bout you let ol' Jack out o' this here cell, eh? What say you to that?"_

_Gibbs considered it for a moment and grunted. "What's in it fer me?"_

"_Well," Jack said, turning his head. "Let's just say it'll be payback, savvy? He doesn't have to know who let me out. He doesn't even know it be me down 'ere."_

"_Well, I don't know," Gibbs answered. "It's bad luck to let pirates free without collateral. You know better'n me, you does."_

"_That's why I'm asking nicely," Jack told him. "You can trust that I'll leave right off and won't trouble you further. I'll even tell you where my stash of rum is. We can have a drink together some time, savvy?"_

"_Well, since you offered," Gibbs said, ever weak in the knees for rum, pulling the keys off the wall. He looked around, slipped the keys to Jack, and disappeared down into the bilgy._

_Jack grinned and unlocked the door, laughing because he'd never told Gibbs a darn thing about where his rum was stored. He decided to leave a message and hastily scratched on a bit of kindling paper a messy note._

"**GIBBS, rum, bilge, cove**

** ~CJS"**

_After sticking it to the trap handle of the bilge, Jack slipped out a gun port and swam to safety._

…

_The next night, Jack was seated in a different pub, and this is the first time he decided to grow out his beard and things. He'd seen Gibbs' muttonchops and decided it gave a certain ... charm to a man. He already had plans for what he would do when his beard grew long enough. _

_Not long after Jack had finished a few bottles, a weary muttonchopped sailor entered the pub and tossed his hat down, stepping on it. He took a seat near Jack and ordered whiskey._

_Jack smiled and moved over to him. "Hello, there, mate."_

_Gibbs turned to him, his face twisting in rage. He reached out and attempted to strangle Jack, who knocked over his drink in the struggle, soaking Gibbs in what drink was left in the mug. He tried to pry off the sailor's vice like grip on his throat but it wasn't very easy. Jack pulled out his knife and threatened Gibbs, who let him go before Jack had to make good the threat._

"_Norrington booted me, damn him," Gibbs grunted, drinking his whiskey. "And you know why?"_

_Jack shrugged. "Go on."_

"_The prisoner was gone," he answered. "The note that was left gave him a very keen suspicion. He asked who CJS was. I told him, partly 'cause I was drunk as a donkey's ear at the time, partly 'cause I didn't think he'd believe me. He took me oar and snapped it over his knee, pointed down the gangplank."_

_Jack grinned, showing off a bit of gold. "It's not so bad, is it?"_

"_Nay," Gibbs answered. "Just means I gotta turn t'other ploys."_

_Jack smiled wider. "You can always turn to piracy."_

"_... hadn't thought o' that."_

"_It's easy. I'll show you." And so they got up and left the pub, without paying._

_It was easy to pillage certain houses in Spittlefield. It wasn't quite piracy, but it was a start. Jack would distract the women with his young striking looks and Gibbs would grab the goods, jumping out the window. _

_All in all, it was a fun night, and they got several hundred pounds worth of goods before they were both caught and tossed in jail. They had a laugh however when the jailer became 'ill' suddenly as he tripped "accidentally on purpose" over Jack's foot through the bars, the keys falling right in Gibbs' reach. They were out before you could say "bilge rat" and off to spend the night's "earnings"._

_Of course, Norrington was on to Jack and the pirate had to flee, running to Madrid for a while, which is where he managed to piss off the Spanish navy._

{END FLASHBACK}

"Are you happy yet or need I keep talking?" Jack muttered slightly angrily.

"You'd better shut up and look down," Claggert pointed out. Jack gave him a look but looked down at his legs, stretched out in front of him. There was a large spider with a stained white doily attached to a few of its legs staring at him with all eight of its black eyes and Jack somehow hadn't noticed the thing.

He jumped up and the spider fell feebly off his leg to scuttle slowly around his foot, finally to rest its first two legs on his boot.

"Blessed be," Old Cheese crooned. "That be a sign o' good luck, it be. A spider followin' ye, an' one that size? It's a wonder anyone messes wit' ya. Aye, that be God's favor on ye, I'd reckon."

"Having spiders that big stalk me halfway around the planet is a good sign?" Jack said in a very exasperated voice, scooting away from the giant arachnid. "It almost got me killed twice! Once with a very angry woman, the second with an immortal, or nearly so, pirate captain! And if it hadn't been for this bloody tarantula, I might be out of this bloody jail! But I'm still stuck here, thanks to the bloody stupid tarantula."

Old Cheese just chuckled. "You'll see what I mean."

"What's the matter," Claggert asked. "'Fraid of a bitty spider?"

"I am not afraid of 'bitty' spiders," Jack grunted indignantly. "This thing's size puts it in an entirely different category altogether."

"You're sceered," he laughed. Jack stuck out his tongue at the spider.

"As long as it's just sitting there I'm fine," Jack muttered. "It's when it starts trying to climb my leg that I get a bit freakish."

(Raise your hand if you want to see Jack get freakish)

…

"All right, so the plan goes as follows, correct me if I make a mistake," Scarlette said, sitting at the table in Jack's cabin. Gibbs, Bootstrap, Will, Topher, David, Anamaria, Robin, Lizzy, Elizabeth, Marty and Armstrong were sitting, standing, leaning or lounging about as well.

"We all go in, in disguise if we can manage enough, one of the women in a dress and corset. The majority of the crew stays here, along with Elizabeth, as per Will's request. I would ask Robin and Lizzy to stay as well, but they insist on coming along. We bid to make it seem natural and whoever is dressed in the corset and such will be the "winner" so to speak. She, or he though, I doubt that would work, will go up and pretend to hang Jack. They will cut the line, letting Jack down where the rest of us will throw off whatever disguises we're wearing and gun down the navy. We'll all have multiple shot and you'd better all wear the vests. It would be stupid not to at this point. Really, the only ones in real danger are Jack and whoever is up there to cut him down. The navy's been trained to shoot at the body, not the head. The rest of you will be hidden by the crowd.

"The crew will have the horses ready for us so all we have to do is hop and tarry ho, ride like hell; we're back on the ship. They may attempt pursuit, but by then, we'll have taken care of that, right? The crew will be very busy. Half should be with the horses, a quarter on the escape, and the last on _the Pearl _to keep watch. Don't fly her colors, but you know that already.

"Now, Anamaria, I'd like you to be with the horses to keep the men in line. We can't have them goofing on something this important. Armstrong, I'm trusting you to get rid of the pursuit. Take Nathaniel with you. I don't care what you do or how you do it but be back on _the Pearl _before we take off. You should have penty of time, seeing how far we'll have to ride to get back to the coast. Now, who is going up on that gallows block?"

Everyone just stared at her. She looked uncomfortably from Robin to Anamaria but no one was giving her any slack. It was Lizzy who piped up. "We all assumed you were going to do it."

Scarlette looked at her. "Corset, Lizzy. If I do it, I'm not wearin' one."

"You've gained a few pounds since you last wore those dresses, Ryoko," Robin pointed out. "You'll need the corset."

"I'm not wearing that bloody corset!"

"It be necessary, lass," Bootstrap told her. "To fit in character."

"Yeah, it'll be great character to faint before I get up there. Then who'll cut Jack down, eh?"

"You're not going to faint, Ryoko," Robin exclaimed condescendingly. "When have _you _ever fainted? I never faint. Except that one time, but hey, I thought I saw Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom on the sidewalk in front of me. I'm surprised the rest of you didn't faint. Anyways, back to my point. The only time you ever fainted was when you were ... yeah. Before Sharon was ... expected, so to speak."

"Come on, Robin," Scarlette goaded. "You can say it. Pregnant *GASP* I said the "P" word! Oh my God, I must be smote. This isn't the "I Love Lucy" show. You can say whatever you want, provided you're willing to deal with whomever you potentially offend. Yes, I fainted then and I passed out a few times due to various different circumstances and I tell you, it would be bad to be wrong at a time like this."

"But Mrs. Sparrow," Topher addressed her. "If you seem to be out of character, they may suspect something."

"Yes, I know, but no one is going to be looking at my stomach and saying, "Ah ha! She's not wearing a corset!" They aren't going to be looking at me at all. I am not the main attraction here, folks."

"What about when you're up on the gallows?" David posed.

"Too late, then," Scarlette retorted. "No one will care because they'll all be waiting for me to pull the damn lever and see the scalawag hang."

"I could order you to wear it," Anamaria threatened suggestively.

"Nope," Scarlette contradicted. "I answer to no one but Jack on this ship, and hardly so, no matter that you're the stand in captain. Trust me, it'll be fine."

"There's got to be some reason why you're that reluctant," Will said softly.

"No reason," she said quickly. "No reason other than it's a pain in the ... upper body and I don't want to even think about running to the horses, jumping on the horses, riding the bloody horses for miles, etc in a damn corset. I'll die before I get back! Or is it your plan to get rid of me?"

"No, no, of course not," Will answered, putting one hand up to ward off accusations. "It's just that it seems you're backing down from something as opposed to trying it stubbornly anyway."

"Nope," Scarlette answered. "What other reason could there be? Don't answer that. I don't want to know what you're thinking."

"I haven't anything in mind," he answered. "I was just pointing out a fact."

"Is it the greatest idea to have Scarlette go up at all?" Elizabeth asked. "Her face is not as well known as Jack's but she has her own set of posters you know."

"For doing what?" Scarlette scoffed. "The only thing I ever did was outsmart Norrington and now the British navy wants to hang me. This must be what my mother said when she told me to stay away from rebel boys. '_They'll only drag you down with them, honey. Take it from me, been there, done that_.' I never thought any of that made sense, but Jack seems to have epitomized it substantially."

"As I was saying," Elizabeth continued unhindered. "Perhaps one of us should go up instead. We are less known."

"No," Scarlette disagreed. "You are staying here, and I don't want the others to be in that kind of danger. Plus, if we get in too much trouble, I still have the emerald. We can escape to the future if all goes bad."

"I have a sinking feeling we're all going to die," Armstrong grunted randomly. The others laughed nervously. Scarlette gave him a dirty look.

She suddenly cleared her throat. Their attention was rapt.

"If neither of us make it back," she began. "Anamaria, you are obviously captain. The money should be used for Sharon. This is a bit difficult to decide but ... if neither Jack nor I make it back, I would like Sharon to be taken care of until her tenth year by Bootstrap, or Will and Elizabeth. On her tenth birthday, she will fall under your responsibility, Anamaria. I don't want her to forget her origins, you see. Her name is Sparrow, and she belongs with the ship."

The two future girls "awed" and the parties addressed nodded. Elizabeth and Will glanced at each other and back quickly enough that Scarlette turned in their direction.

"What was that little exchange about eh?" she asked. "Come, come now. Speak up."

Elizabeth gave her a sympathetic eye. "We'd be happy to adopt Sharon if you should ... well …."

"If I should what? Not survive?"

"No," Elizabeth answered. "If Jack doesn't survive and you leave."

Scarlette withdrew. "I understand. Please bear with me. I have not decided whether I am to stay here or not. One thing is for sure, though. The decision depends almost completely on the outcome of this last adventure."

"Who says it'll be the last?" Lizzy asked.

Will smiled. "It's never the last adventure. It doesn't work that way, unless you ... well, unless you stop living. There's no way round that. Even then, you go on to different adventures."

"You know," Lizzy piped up, looking over at David. "I wonder if reincarnation really exists."

Bootstrap shrugged. "If it does, all of us who've been under that curse are bloomin' screwed over."

"Yeah," Robin added. "Doesn't look too good on that Nirvana resume when you spent ten years under immortal bounds. Kinda like cheating."

"I don't think you'll have a problem with that," Elizabeth assessed. "The fact that you're all pirates would worry me more."

"Ah, quit yer prejudiced yappin'," Scarlette laughed. "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me."

"Drink up me hearties yo ho," Robin added.

"And really bad eggs," Elizabeth said flatly. Everyone in the room cracked up laughing. Will gave her a funny look and she shrugged.

"Isn't that how this whole thing started?" Lizzy asked. "We were walking down the street singing the song and suddenly …."

"They arrived," Robin added. "Within a year, Diana's cursed, Lizzy's engaged, Ryoko's married and she's got a kid!"

"I still think it's sad that I had to be sucked into the past to find a husband," Scarlette muttered ironically.

"Well," Lizzy pointed out in an "I-told-you-so" voice. "If you hadn't been so stubborn with the last one ..."

"You know, I saw him the other day," Scarlette interrupted. "I kneed him in the groin."

The men winced. She looked around in confusion. "What? He deserved it, trust me."

The girls who knew about it laughed and the men spoke about things that guys spoke about, such as horses, ships, and money (not cars, football, and sex, well ... sex was in there, but not in front of the women, especially not Turner and Sparrow)

Far off, Jack was sitting in his cell, unable to sleep in anticipation of his execution the following morning.

…

Well, it's 1 am exactly. Gotta go to sleep, got school tomorrow. You guys should see my apartment. It's so cute! I've got a sign in the kitchen that says "Galley" and a sign on the bathroom door that says "Jardin" and even one on my bedroom door that says "Captain's Quarters". Oh well, who cares but me. I'm obviously insane so see ya next chapter, possibly my last (eek!).

~Ja ne

**Revisited 1-21-07 2:48 pm**


	25. Chapter XXIV : Almost Too Late

What is it with me and weirdoes? It's really not very fair, you know. Well, I suppose it is considering who _I_ am. I mean, well, you all know what I mean. I suppose I was born to be a freak magnet. Of course, as a wise man once told me (it was about two days ago) any girl who can emulate Johnny Depp at all must be a freak. Therefore, freak attracts freak(s) both male and female. All my closest friends are either female and exceptionally witty in a bawdy way, or male and exceptionally strange. (With the exception of Elizabeth Talbott, who is ... witty in a not so bawdy way.)

**Chapter XXIV –Almost Too Late **

Chelsea Russell, (very bawdily witty) sitting alone at her desk was bored out of her mind. She stared out the window of her room at the sweltering summer day and wished it would rain, though come winter, that's pretty much all it did.

She saw a few people out her window, walking quickly and talking animatedly. One of them was a girl Chelsea knew named Kristin, who possessed long black hair that was curled thickly. The other girl she didn't know, but she knew one of the boys from French class. He had bright orange hair.

"I'm not doing anything else," Chelsea shrugged. "Might as well go see what Kristin and Ciao are doing." She got up from her desk and opened the window to call out to her friends.

"Hey guys!" she exclaimed. "Where're you going?"

"To my house," Sean shouted back.

"Can I come?"

She watched as they exchanged glances. It seemed as if they were keeping a secret or something.

"Should we trust her?" Tony asked. " I mean, the girls don't even know the whole story yet."

"It's not like she's going to believe us anyways," Heather pointed out. "Remember when we told you? It took me landing on you guys to give you a hint and even then you didn't believe us."

"That was hilarious!" Sean suddenly cracked up. "Remember Tony fainting?"

"I love how mean you are to each other," Heather laughed. "Let's have her along."

"Yeah, come on!" Kristin shouted to Chelsea. The small girl ran out to meet them, her short, short hair hardly moving as she ran. She was smaller even than Scarlette, but not by much. They were the same height practically but Chelsea seemed finer boned than Scarlette, more precious. Scarlette, when you knew her, looked as if she would pound your face in at the slightest provocation but Chelsea, whether she would or not, she didn't look it at all. She looked like a much more intelligent Meg Ryan with an Ani Difranco complex.

She walked along Kristin, chatting animatedly without a suspicion to the madness of her companions' thoughts.

Such as …

KRISTIN: She's gonna think I'm nuts and she'll never speak to me again, well, she'll speak to me because she's cool, but she'll always wonder if I'm nuts or not. I need to practice my violin. I'm hungry. I wonder if Tony has any money he could possibly lend me. I want ... cheese pretzels. I wonder if Will likes cheese pretzels. Who wouldn't like cheese pretzels? They're so ... cheesy and good. Cheesy goodness, with butter and salt! Yummy, especially the ones from the movie theater or the mall. The school ones aren't that good, but damn, those mall pretzels ….

HEATHER: Damn school. I don't want to go back on Monday. I wonder what we're going to be learning in fencing. I can't wait to go back so I can fence Will Turner again. That was funny, especially when I almost made Jack into a eunuch, though I doubt Scarlette would be happy about that. I think she rather likes his voice the way it is. ...

SEAN: _At the star wars ... star wars cantina_. I need to find that CD. I think I leant it to crazy Burbridge ... or was it Shane? Maybe the emus took it. Hmm. I wonder if I got Tony drunk enough if he would dress up like a cheerleader and go to school that way. It might be interesting and downright hilarious to watch people's reactions, but I wouldn't want to see Tony in _anything_ as short as those little skirts….

TONY: *space for rent* *Kilroy was here* *VACANT* *No data* *system failure* *BELCH* *Why are the badgers gone?*

It didn't take very long for them to reach the apartment. They found the door unlocked and the place a mess, the booze almost completely plundered.

"Well, I see the boys have been around while we were out," Sean muttered. "Ignore the mess. It's always like that as you've probably guessed."

"The Crown Royal is all GONE!" Tony exclaimed.

"Why is the rum gone?" Chelsea asked absently. Everyone stared at her in shock for a moment, all thinking the same thing. '_SHE KNOWS! HOW CAN SHE KNOW_?'

Chelsea shrugged. "Sorry guys. I didn't mean to sound weird or anything. It's just a quote. You can stop staring at me."

"Okay," Heather said, pulling out a twelve pack of ... no, it wasn't beer. It was crème soda, you bunch of frat kids. She handed them out and put the rest away. "Tell us what happened."

"Well," Tony began "We—"

"Croiky!" Sean interrupted loudly. "It's a woild animal! Danger, danger, danger." He jumped and attacked a wig with cat ears that had been lying around, rolling around the carpet. He crashed into Heather's chair, knocking her over.

The chair crumpled and her drink went all over Sean's hair, which didn't seem to bother him as he was bravely conquering the "wild animal", momentarily taking on a Steve Irwin Aussie accent. He continued to wrestle with the wig, which at one point became plastered over his face. He fell back and attempted to pry it loose but the inanimate object apparently was hanging on. Sean began to convulse and 'died'. He then got up and punted the wig into the window.

The wigs ears were not hard enough to break glass nor was the force used strong enough, but the impact was followed by a shattering sound. Sean looked shocked for real and looked at Tony, who had an equally shocked look on his face. They both ran over to look at the window behind the dingy curtains.

The wig had crashed through what had been a bad sello-tape job on their window. Apparently, someone had broken in and not bothered to use the door, or had broken the window while there and tried to 'fix' it. Whatever the case, the wig had flown through the air and hit the broken glass just right, probably due to the plastic ears attached.

"Holy shit!" Tony exclaimed. "Who did this?"

"I'm betting on Dan," Sean muttered.

"Or Burbridge. It might have been Darren too. In fact, Dan would have told us but Darren ..."

"Or Burbridge ..."

"Maybe it was the old lady downstairs."

"The funny thing is, we aren't blaming it on burglars, but on our closest friends."

"Well, with our friends, who needs enemies. Plus, there's nothin' to steal, unless they want your old clothes. Holy badger! You're hair is turning blue!"

Sean looked up, trying to see his orange fuzz. The girls looked up and all began laughing.

"Bull," Sean spat, running off to the bathroom. He looked in the mirror, his pale eyes blinking in surprise. Sure enough, his hair was turning into a violet bluish color, the roots orange and brown.

"What the hell happened?"

"My soda?" Heather suggested.

"What? What's in this stuff?" Sean grabbed the can and tried to decipher the multiple lined words on the ingredient list.

"What the hell is propylene carbonate, dimethyl glutarate and succinate, isopropyl acetate, and benzophenone. Denatonium benzoate? Is that healthy?"

"It sounds weird, like its carbonated ponies, gluttonous and succulent meth users, inappropriate acid, and ... been on the phone. Oh, and exploding guy named Ben that already ate."

Everyone was silent after Tony's comment but two seconds later, the room erupted in laughter again. Sean stood there, looking like Kramer meets Marge Simpson and somehow, the look worked for him.

"So," Heather began, getting another soda. "How about telling us what's been happening, eh?"

"Right," Tony agreed. "Trial #2 of story telling. We landed in jail." He paused for the laughs to die down. "Jack was there, stuck in a cell. We let him out and started to go to the ship but Croc hunter Sean decided to be his stupid self and have fun with the stationery guards. You all know the ones. He got nailed by him after he had his little storm spasm, you know, and then we got caught again. We were locked across the hall from Jack so we couldn't all escape to here."

"You could have come here and then gone back immediately," Kristin pointed.

"Yeah, well when we figured that out," Sean muttered. "The spoon had been washed. We couldn't go back. We used the rest of that little turd Nick's money. Did you see him stab Scarlette? That was actually kind of scary. I mean, how could someone live through that?"

"Is Scarlette alive?" Heather asked, truly worried.

"We don't know," Tony answered. "We opened the apartment. The stereo was playing, there were dishes in the sink, the lights were on, the shower was wet recently and the curling iron was burning a hole in the bathroom rug. She'd been in there not ten minutes before we arrived."

"Then where did she go? She must have gone back to be completely gone," Kristin brainstormed. "Unless she was kidnapped."

Sean and Tony started cracking up. "Kidnapped? Scarlette?" Tony choked. "The way I saw it, even Jack was a little scared of her."

"I think he was more afraid of what she was thinking at the time," Sean added.

"Oh," Heather said understandingly. "You mean about what he said? That was really sweet. Why is it men have to be older to figure it out? Younger boys never do stuff like that."

"Um ..." Chelsea began. "What are you guys talking about?"

The group sighed. Heather cleared her throat. "I'll start the story. Come in when you've got something to say."

"Trogdor! Arrghhh!" Sean squealed randomly. "Beware the Burninator!"

…

Jadent arrived in London the night before Jack was to be hung, miraculously. The winds had been exceedingly helpful the entire voyage and a trip that should have taken weeks had only stretched over one. He sent a carriage off to his manor with the bulk of his belongings and decided to spend that night in town. He entered a pub to gain all the gossip and happened upon some juicy, highly interesting information.

"Yeh, ye be knowin' 'at ol' Jack Sparrow, eh? Well, he be skedooled ta hang on the morra' ye know. Yep, they be givin' an auction or som'mat the sorts o' 'at. Fer what? Ta pull the bloody lever, ye know. I reckon it'll be a pretty party afterwards."

Jadent rubbed his hands together, remembering the blow he'd been dealt by Scarlette's dainty fist on Christmas, and then the harder strike he'd received from Jack that day long ago in April when he returned to Port Royal, well and alive.

"I'll bid on his ruddy life," Jadent vowed. "And I intend to win it."

"What if someone wants ta beat ye bad enough ta kill ye?"

"Well, then, let them try. I am a master swordsman. A wizard, even. Have you heard of wizards?"

"Magic men?"

"No, no, a sword wizard. Unbeatable in almost every way."

"I'll believe it when I see it. Personally, I think Jack Sparrow'll escape."

"Why?"

"Well," the man began. "He vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India company, sacked Nassau port without firing a shot, escaped from a deserted island, escaped from Norrington over three times, defeated the immortal Barbossa twice, got _The Black Pearl _back, broke out of the London tower twice, evaded all of Cambridge, embarrassed the South China Sea's pirate lord, managed to fight—"

"All right, all right," Jadent said, putting his hands up in surrender. "I get it. But he's no swordsman. He knows how to fight, but he's nothing to me."

"And what about his family?" the man asked. "Does he not have anyone who'll avenge him?"

Jadent shrugged. "An old mother and a wife, plus a kid."

"What's this? Married?"

"Yes, and very territorial. A few of the spaces in my mouth are from him because, well, you see, I though he was dead and you might say I had designs on Scarlette at the time. He overheard something when he came back from being 'dead' and let me have it."

"So you're not afraid?"

"Oh yes," Jadent answered. "I'm terrified of her! She's got no soul and won't hesitate to shoot me. She isn't like normal women! I caught her under the mistletoe and she hit me! Now, this wasn't one of those little slaps women give to men when they're flirting. This was an all out blow! I spat blood and you know what? She was expecting when she did it! How many women you know would do that, even when they weren't ... well, you know, in the family way."

"Well, what did you expect," a listener commented. "Scarlette Sparrow is, or so I've heard, just as much a wild card as Jack. She's an unexpected parcel. I've never seen her, but I hear tell that she's a tiny li'l thing, makes Jack look real big, an' we all know he's smaller than a lot of men here." There were a few jeers and stabs at Jack's height. Yeah, so Jack was a little short, but only because, next to Scarlette, he kept running into tall women like Belle, Elizabeth, Robin, etc ... It was just his bad luck.

Jadent had fun planning what he was going to do tomorrow. "I get to kill Jack!" Fun, fun, fun.

(chop, chop, chop, stab, stab, stab, there you are wif two ships)

…

Jack was stretched out on the floor, lying on his back, wondering whether he'd see this world this time tomorrow. He'd never been hung in London before but he noticed that security, though it had the potential to be very efficient, it was lax and pompous at best, "Ooh. We're the Brits. No one can beat us 'cause we're the best."

Jack felt the spider wiggle. The thing had been perched on his boot for the good part of the day and Jack had on several occasions thought it to be dead, and many times forgotten about it completely.

He wasn't quite sure what he thought of that spider. The tarantula, with its legs splayed was bigger than most frying pans. Jack had removed the doily and either the arachnid was too weak to hurt him or it was being nice for a reason. He wondered what spiders represented in the animal world.

He heard voices down the tunnel of cells and for a moment, he thought one of them was his own. It sounded strange, an octave higher perhaps. And not as rough, though the accent was mirrored. What was going on?

"You, Sparrow," an upper-class British voice said, along with a clang of bars. "You've got a visitor. Yer sister ... what did you say your name was?"

"Ryoko," she answered. "Ry-o-ko. Come on, it's not that difficult is it?"

Jack sat up so fast his head spun, his beads clinking together loudly. The man nodded and left them.

"Scarlette!" Jack whispered. "You actually came back! To tell you the truth, I'm surprised, truly. Why are you here?"

She gave him a little coy smile and sat in front of the bars. He brushed the tarantula aside not without slight shivers and moved up to the iron poles that cut him off from escape.

"We're going to get you out tomorrow, Jack," she told him. "Don't worry. We're going to make it, but keep it down. I don't want the officers to be bearing down on us tomorrow."

Scarlette reached through the bars and took one of his hands unexpectedly. "I haven't decided yet." He knew without asking what she meant. Would she be 21st century, or golden age of piracy?

"Whether the weather be cold," he began. "Whether the weather be hot. We'll be together whatever the weather, whether we like it or not."

She smiled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jack shrugged. "I'm not quite sure meself. All I'm sayin' is that's how it'll be if you stay. Can you stand me that much?"

She shrugged. "It's not a question of me being able to tolerate you, Jack. I don't hate you. There's a reason I must leave."

"Because of what I said," he spoke bitterly, taking his hand out of her reach. "If I had known you would have acted this way, I would never have said anything."

To his surprise, she laughed. "And how is this any different from what you did to me? '_Sorry, luv. I'm leavin', too bad fer you, eh_?' Do you know what that did to me?"

He withdrew his eyes and sat, crossing his arms and refusing to look at her. "So you think I deserved it?"

"Dammit, Jack, stop acting like a kid," she told him. "Why are you so hurt?"

"Why?" he exclaimed. "Why, why? What sort of question is that! I take it back. You _are _more heartless than I. At least I apologized, and then I saved your life, remember?"

"Jack," she said bluntly. "I _am _here to save your life."

"Hah," he said, tossing his head.

She smiled. "You must really hate me."

He looked back suspiciously. "Why would I hate _you?_"

She shrugged. "I don't know. You seem really disinclined to speak with me at all."

He moved back to the bars. "Can you blame me?"

She smiled and shook her head. "You took a risk, saying all that. The problem lies with me. I'll not tear into your heart because I haven't finished figuring my own out yet."

Jack looked at her, slightly curiously. She smiled and spoke again. "It's September. A year ago, we were on our way to Tortuga, if you remember. We were still fighting about my ... identity."

"I'd forgotten," he admitted. "I'm sorry, Scarlette. It seems you'd be much better off without me, eh? You wouldn't be wanted by the law or as scarred up—" His eyes grew larger as she parted the shirt and lifted her girdle just a bit, revealing the new scars on her stomach.

"These—from the swords," he whispered, tracing the rougher one. He looked up at her face as she dropped her shirt back over her abdomen. "On your back as well, I'd imagine." She nodded and stretched, popping her back. She suddenly remembered something.

"Where's Nick?" she asked.

"Um ... well, er ..." Jack wasn't sure if she knew that her own brother had been the one to stab her through the back. She looked suspicious already at Jack's stammers.

"He's nowhere, really," Jack said. "Or if he _is_ anywhere, I don't know where."

She looked worried. "Tell me, Jack. What's wrong with my brother?"

"Just about everything in the world," he answered, his eyes darkening.

She gasped. "He's dead?"

"I wish it were that easy," Jack muttered.

"If he's not dead or cursed, how bad could it possibly be?"

"You have no idea, do you?" Jack asked her. She gave him a confused look. Jack sighed and took her hand this time.

"This may come as a shock to you, but ..." he closed his eyes for a moment, looking back at her with an intensity that terrified her. "You and Barbossa were fighting furiously and in the melee, Nick boarded _the_ _Pearl_. Afterwards, your fight took you into the rigging. You jumped up onto the mast to contend with the devil. Nick followed you up. When your sword broke, it hit him."

"Oh, my god," she whispered. "I didn't hurt him, did I?"

Jack smiled. "I wish that you had. On the mast were only three people, you, Barbossa, and Nick. What happened on that mast before I came up for you?"

"We were fighting and then ... I stabbed Barbossa, but I was ..." she had been staring at the ground but when she looked up at Jack, she knew. "I was stabbed from behind. Nick! He ... he did me in. That little BASTARD!" Her voice echoed. The soldier peeked out and she waved at him. He decided it was none of his business.

"Why am I cursed with stupid genes in my family?" she asked the empty air. She blinked and dabbed her eyes. "Shit."

"Scarlette, are you ..." she shook her head.

"Crying? Is that what you were going to say? Yeah, so what if I am. My little brother tried to kill me! And that's not all. I suppose I ought to tell you now since we might not get the chance tomorrow." She opened her mouth to say something but suddenly became aware of both Old Cheese and Claggert leaning against their cells listening. She motioned for Jack to move closer and she whispered something incoherent in his ear. The two prisoners groaned in anger.

Jack pulled back. "That's interesting." A shadow of his old grin slid across his face. "That's very interesting. How do you know this?"

"Trust me Jack," she told him. "I know. I knew before as well."

He smiled broadly. "Well, then. We'd better make it through this, luv. I know what you would do."

"Excuse me?"

He laughed and touched her face through the bars. "You know what I mean."

(As the readers go "What?")

"Yer time's almost up, girl," the man down the hall grunted. She ignored him.

"But the swords!" Jack said suddenly. "Is that why you weren't stuck here? Did the wounds make it possible?"

"No," she answered. "It made no difference with the stronger magic."

(What the HELL are they talking about?)

"Um," Claggert interrupted. "Does someone want to enlighten us, please?"

"No," the Sparrows said in unison. Jack turned to him and gave him a dark look. "It's really none of your business, mate."

"Hmph," he grunted. The soldier down the hall began to nudge his partner. The man looked at him in confusion. He nudged him again. He was trying to get him to go down the hall and dislodge Scarlette, not wanting to do it himself for fear of spiking Jack's wrath. The pirate may have been behind bars, but he was still dangerous.

He nudged him a third time and his partner turned very plainly and said to him, "If you don't quit doing that I am going to knee you."

"The Brits are *TARDS*," Scarlette coughed. Jack started laughing, turning it into a cough before the guards had time to apprehend him.

…

"And so, she's disappeared," Tony concluded.

The story had taken _hours_ to tell, and that was just what the Oregon kids knew. Chelsea had sat patiently through it and given minimal resistance to the outrageous tale, but everyone seemed to be agreeing that it happened a certain way on a set timeline. She folded her hands over her stomach and began to speak skeptically.

"It's a ... less than probable tale," she began. "But it's so believable that I am inclined to go along with it. You are all too specific for it to be made up and you seem to know everything from your respective roles. The only thing I'm a little iffy on is why are all the key characters in California?"

"Because that's where the whole thing started," Heather said loudly. "They got sent to the past from LA."

Chelsea gave a little sideways turn of her head, her blue eyes blinking. Sean came into the room from somewhere else in the apartment and everyone turned their attention to him. He looked like a snow cone.

"You look like on of those Slurpees you buy at 7 11," Tony laughed. "Hold on," he disappeared and returned with a plastic light saber. He carefully squeezed the lowermost link, popping it out of the handle. He stuck it on Sean's head and adjusted it until it was balanced.

"Ta da!" he said. "It's a straw! Now all we need is to find you like a big box or something." There was a slam on the door and a grinding of metal on metal. Everyone began to freak. The door opened and one of the dingiest men anyone had ever seen entered. The weird (or normal if you take this fic into mind) thing about the man was that he was dressed in 18th century clothing and had a cutlass drawn.

"Oh, here ye be," he growled. "I'll be killin' what's left of ye, scurvy friends of Jack."

"Fire escape!" Chelsea exclaimed. "Is there one?"

"Back of the building," Tony shouted. "Sean's room."

"Wait!" Sean exclaimed as everyone broke for the back. The pirate stood there slightly confused. It was daylight so his skeletal form wasn't visible but he was still a pirate. He started after them, stepping on the plastic saber and shattering it into many green shards.

"I said 'Wait'!" Sean shouted again as Tony and Kristin went out the window and Heather jammed the door with a butter knife. Everyone else climbed out as well and Sean was left standing in the room alone. He looked out at the kids on the escape and shrugged, climbing out after them.

"Wait for what?" Tony asked from below.

"Never mind," Sean answered. "I was just going to tell you how this escape was deemed unsafe because of—" RINGRING – KuRUNCH – SCREEEEECH – KuKuKURRRCCCKKSHING!

The entire fire escape separated from the wall of the building, falling with all five kids on it. When the dust cleared, Kristin was tangled with the garden hose, Heather was hanging from a tree branch, Chelsea was flat on her back and Sean had landed on Tony. The pirate poked his head out of the upper window and began to shout at them.

"Get up!" Heather exclaimed, jumping to the ground. "Get up, now! He's immortal and that jump won't hurt him a bit. Let's go! To my house!" Everyone got up, miraculously unwounded, or at least not critically. The sprinted down the street just as the pirate was falling to the ground.

…

"I" SLAM "am not" BANG "wearing" KaSHING "a CORSET!"

"But Mrs. Sparrow," Gibbs pleaded, running after her as she paced around the deck in the early morning before dawn. "You need to wear one!"

She whirled around and brought up her hand. "Are you implying that I'm fat, Mr. Gibbs? Hmm? Do I remind thee of an elephant? A beached whale, perhaps? Please, tell me. I am dying to know."

He put his hands up and tried not to laugh. She weighed about as much as one of his arms and reminded him more of a tiger than an elephant. "No'm. That's not what I meant. I meant only that it would appear strange for you to not wear one."

"Joshamee Gibbs," she said condescendingly. "No one will notice my lack of corset because I will be wearing a dress and cloak. Plus, you cannot expect me to ride a bloody horse, rescue Jack and everything else while wearing one. I'm good, endurance wise, but I'm not immune to pain."

Gibbs continued to follow her around, highly worried about their situation. He would jump every time she would hit something as she walked, venting out her frustration on the ship around her.

"Calm down, Ryoko," Robin said as she came up from the lower decks. "It'll all be fine in a few hours."

"Hrmph," Scarlette grunted, still pacing back and forth, almost running into Gibbs each time she turned abruptly. She stopped suddenly and he flinched.

"Will you stop following me around?" she exclaimed. "I can't use me head right with you hovering over me shoulder, savvy?"

"Aye, Cap'n, I mean—" Gibbs looked utterly confused for a second. "Sorry, Mrs. Sparrow." But she hadn't noticed. Robin had though, and was looking strangely between them.

"Why'd you call her that?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Just an accident. That ... dialect she be usin' and the choice of words, a bit too much like Jack. Makes a man wonder what would happen had she not been around him. I remember, she used to talk like you gals, and then, when Jack was serposed to be dead, she been talkin' like Elizabeth."

"She's a reflection," Robin answered. "She seems to do that, I don't know if she realizes it. I've heard her speak differently wherever we go but you get used to it. It's as if the people she's around cause her to blend in. I've heard her order chili cheese fries from a Hispanic woman and develop just the slightest accent, but when she turned to Liz and I to go sit down, her voice would come back, normal. It was so sudden one might think you'd imagined it. It used to be only when she was dangerously angry that her accent took a British color, or when she read Shakespeare. She also did it a lot with substitute teachers just to mess with them, which was kind of amusing to watch and listen to."

Gibbs shook his head. "I still don't understand a lot of the things you women say."

Robin shrugged indifferently. She didn't feel like explaining it to him. Suddenly, she and Gibbs straightened up as Scarlette hit the deck with her foot. She had turned abruptly towards land, her eyes wide.

"What is it, Ryoko?" Lizzy asked.

"Let's go," she answered. "It's time."

…

Jack was asleep, finally. After turning and listening to Cheese all night, (several stories, including The Golden Arm, King of Cats, The Maggot, The Dancing Dead, and many others, including one some of the readers, thanks to a certain theater trip might be familiar with, Tailypo) he finally fell asleep, and not ten minutes after, they came to get him.

He woke when the door was wrenched open with a loud metallic clang. Two British officers entered the stall and tossed dirt on him.

"What the—" Jack exclaimed, rubbing the dirt out of his eyes. "What a rude way to wake a man. That's bad luck, you know."

"The only bad luck today will lie with you, Mr. Sparrow," one said, smiling grimly.

Jack shrugged. "You think you're so great, eh? Well, I've escaped quite a few times and I'm not too impressed."

"You see," one told him. "You're in London. No one escapes us."

Jack smiled. "No one, eh? Bet that makes you mighty comfortable."

They exchanged a glance and grabbed him roughly by the arms. "Stop stalling for time, Sparrow."

Both times he had escaped, he had not gone through the entire tower. As they dragged him through the towers many rooms, his eyes grew wide. There were actually torture beds, all bare, but a faint trace of blood stained into the wooden bottoms. Jack shivered slightly as the soldiers dragged him.

There were webs everywhere and Jack noticed that the tarantula was missing. It hadn't been in the cell when he'd woken up and he wondered where it had gone. It was a fleeting thought because the next thing he saw was an actual skeleton, bound to the wall in chains. It looked very uncomfortable because its vertebrae were bent at such an angle that one wanted to stretch their own back just at the sight of it.

He heard the crowd long before they turned the corridor and saw them. It was raining hard outside and everyone was soaked to the bone. Jack saw Will with that ridiculous hat, the feather plume drooping sadly and Robin in a bright yellow dress, the ruffles tailored accordingly but as for the others, there was no trace.

Jack was dragged roughly up to the platform where the crowd began chattering animatedly, the rain adding to the noise, until the people, the rain, and the animals in the square turned into a great sea of static. The snare drummers added their steady march mantra to the great cornucopia of sound.

The middle aged man that perched on the corner of the platform looked at Jack remorsefully. He sighed and unrolled a parchment and in his seedy voice began speaking.

"Jack Sparrow," he began, and Jack groaned. They forgot the Captain again. "Be it known that you have been charged, tried and convicted for you willful commission of crimes against the crown. Said crimes, being numerous in quantity, and sinister in nature. The most egregious of these to be sited herewith; piracy, smuggling, falsification Letters of Marque and Reprisal, impersonating an officer of the British royal navy, impersonating an officer of the Spanish royal navy, impersonating a cleric of the church of England, sailing under false colors, arson, kidnapping, looting, poaching, brigandage, pilferage, depravity, degradation, murder and general roguishness. And for these crimes, you have been sentenced to be on this day, hung from the neck until dead. May God have mercy on your soul."

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we begin the bidding. Rules are as follows," a different man began in a more perky voice. "You can bid in any currency; you do not need any credentials or any of that nonsense. The winner, after my dictation, will get the privilege of pulling the lever, after which, we will all go off for a nice drink and get the money, eh? Well, may I start at 20? 15 then? 15 I am bid, 20 sir thank you. 25, francs you say? Thank you Madame. 30, 35, ah, the price is rising ladies and gentlemen."

Jack was waiting for her voice to clear the melee but she never spoke until the price was at 325 pounds.

"Do I hear 326? 330? Come, come now."

"340," she said clearly, the piratical drawl invisible. She was speaking like Elizabeth for the sake of acting.

"342," a familiar man said. The pirates were bidding now. Gibbs grinned and shouted "350!"

"400 pounds!" a familiar, yet unexpected voice added. Jack looked to find Jadent with an evil grin on his pale face.

"And two bits," Scarlette added with a smile. Bits were colonial money, but no one called her on it. Any currency, they had said.

"410," Jadent retorted.

"420," she added calmly.

"430!"

"500."

"510!"

"I would stop if I were you, Jadent, 550!"

He swallowed. "600."

"And two bits."

"Damn you, 605."

"700." The crowd gasped and made way as the two arguing bidders moved towards each other with every new value spoken.

He shivered and another voice called out. "800!" It was Will Turner, helping Scarlette along. "820."

And yet again, another voice called. "840!"

Gibbs shouted, "850."

"900, Scarlette." Jadent snapped. "Take that."

"1,000," she took it, smiling sweetly. She turned her back and suddenly, Jadent was on the ground, a knife in his throat. The people gasped at his convulsing body and the assassin slinked back to _the Pearl_. It had been Leech, loving to bury blades in unsuspecting throats.

"Any other bets?" the auctioneer asked.

"3,000," a cultured British accent called out. Scarlette turned to look back A short man surrounded by uniformed men stood there, looking up at Jack with cold blue eyes. He wore the traditional white wig under a somewhat ostentatious but stylish hat. She had never seen him before but she'd be damned if she'd let him win.

"5,000."

He met her eyes then. "Six."

"Seven," to Gibbs she asked quickly, "Who is that? Those aren't marines … are they Prussian?"

"No, ma'am," Gibbs answered as the question as he called out eight thousand. "That's Cutler Beckett, of the East India Trading Company and his London marines. He lost out on the mercenary's sale for Jack and so he's out to pull the lever himself."

"Eight, five," Scarlette called, watching the other man. They both stared, waiting for something. She whispered to Gibbs again. "That means we can't kill him, right?"

"Nine thousand. Madame, I suggest you bow out. I can match any number you raise."

"Nine, five," she smiled sweetly at him. He blinked slowly and turned to the Chancellor.

Gibbs sighed. "There's no way of getting to him without firing a shot, and if we do, the bids will ends, and Jack will die."

"Ten thousand to close, my good sir," Beckett had clout. Scarlette did not, however, Scarlette was much louder than he was, and pretty to boot.

"Ten thousand and _one_," she grinned, knowing this was the exact number the Company had placed on Jack as a bounty.

Beckett narrowed his eyes at her. He _did_ have a limit. Apparently one guinea over was too much.

No one spoke after that. Who had that much money anyway? The chancellor in his little corner was rubbing his hands together. It was the most he had ever made off hangings in one day, combined.

"Well then, going, going ..." no one called anyone on it. "Gone! Sold for 10,001₤ to the young woman with the pretty red dress. Your name, Madame?"

"Annabelle Morton, sir," she told him, giving a different name. If he heard Scarlette Sparrow, she'd end up right beside Jack, and not in a good way.

The crowd parted for her as she made her way up to the platform, everyone ignoring the dead Jadent as they watched the pirate about to be executed.

She didn't even look at Jack but gripped the lever in a firm _left_ hand. She needed her right for the paper-thin knife that would cut through steel if it had to.

The snare drummers began a drum roll and she looked at them, waiting for her cue. Before they finished, there was a shot. She looked down in shock to her unprotected flesh, and the quarter sized whole that was pouring out a red liquid in her bodice.

The drummers stopped basically because they were shocked but Scarlette gritted her teeth, weakening already, and pulled the lever.

The trap opened with a clank and she fell with the knife, slicing the rope on her way down. She and Jack fell through the trap and the sound of fighting was heard immediately as the pirates laid into the navy.

Gibbs had thought that Beckett had shot her, recognizing her perhaps from posters, but this was not the case. Beckett was now well distracted, searching the crowd and shouting to his marines to find the killer and do something about the pirates. He had not made the connection that the woman had been with the pirates as well.

Jack sliced his bonds on her knife and was surprised when she pulled him up. They ran towards the horses and she bounded onto one, Jack jumping on behind her. The pirates were already running for the horses, as well as Will who cut down everyone who came near him with the cunning of a fox, his two blades flashing in the rain.

"Hya!" Scarlette exclaimed and the horse took off, Jack grabbing her around the waist. His hands became slick with blood but he hoping she was faking it somehow due to her energy.

"Scarlette?" He was shouting but he heard no response from her.

The horse bolted towards the miles of road between them and the shore but all at once, the navy appeared out of nowhere, coming around the corner on big horses to cut off their escape. She turned the horse the other way and spurred it on.

"Go, go, go!" she was shouting to the animal as it turned a sharp corner and raced down the very street Jack had been chased down by the geese. He could see what was coming due to previous experience and he told her to stop. She ignored him until she saw the men. She about faced and came to the other end of the brigade, once again.

"The scaffolding!" Jack pointed. "Go that way, quick!" She kicked the horse and it took off, giving a tumultuous neigh. Jack jumped from the animal, his adrenaline helping him along and latched onto a pulley. She grabbed on as well and sliced the rope he pointed towards emphatically. The pulley gave a whir and suddenly, they were shooting upwards, dust flying in their wake as a large crossbeam smashed through the several levels of scaffolding, pulling them up in with its weight.

There were several gunshots but they were up and over the wall, running over the parapet towards the shore again.

Jack helped her into the loft of a lumber mill as the soldiers came pouring like army ants over the parapet on the other side of the scaffolding. They slid down towards the ground floor and were about to break for the docks as soon as they opened the door. Jack kicked it out and gasped as he met a baker's dozen worth of rifles and bayonets pointed at his chest.

He felt Scarlette grow heavy and he turned to her. She clutched a bloody hand to her side where the bullet must have torn through and Jack suddenly realized she was dying … _again_. He became terrified, though they were likely to die anyways now.

He put an arm behind her back and swung her into his arms, giving her a rest. She put her head back and smiled, something completely out of place for what was about to happen.

She grabbed his arm and her other hand went to her chest, where the emerald sparkled vividly against her pale flesh. The soldiers watched in horror and wonder as the two fugitives disappeared entirely, leaving them pointing at nothing.

…

Gibbs and Nick were facing off, Gibbs knowing now the traitorous little boy had been the one who fired the shot. He slashed like mad, tearing into the boy's right arm and incapacitating him on that side. Nick dropped the sword but pulled out his pistol and fired into Gibbs' chest. He was utterly astounded when Gibbs didn't even bleed but even more flabbergasted when Gibbs slit his throat. Nick fell to the square, bleeding to death, Jadent sporting a similar wound.

"Make fer the ship!" Gibbs shouted, seeing Scarlette and Jack running. Everyone surged towards the horses, jumping on. The navy and the marines were running after Jack and Scarlette so the way was clear for the rest of the crew to make a break for it. It would take miles of riding along the Thames to get to the ships anyways.

…

Armstrong and Nathaniel were aboard the last of the British ships left unoccupied in lee of the execution. They had broken all the rudder chains and made it impossible to follow _the Pearl _as it made its escape. They were on the last one when Nathaniel accidentally knocked over a barrel of black powder.

It wasn't a very big explosion but it blew him across the lower deck and into the hull. He fell to the deck with a smack and to his and Armstrong's horror, the hull he'd hit, one hung with knives and swords, shook. The knives fell first, then the swords. By the time the avalanche of cold steel stopped, Nathaniel was skewered in too many places to even consider forgoing cauterization. In fact, he was in shock, staring at the protruding hilts of the knife collection. He reached feebly to wrap his hand around one of them, croaking all the while. He just managed to grab the hilt when his system shut down. He died, his hand on the blade in his heart.

Armstrong had a horrified look on his face. He cut the rudder chain with the axe and ran over to _the Pearl_'s gunner. He checked for a pulse first and a tear fell when he realized his friend was dead. Pirates can cry too, you know. There ain't no shame in it.

Armstrong heard someone coming, so he crawled out the gun port and fell into the water.

…

The crew made it onto _the Pearl _all right, having ridden the several miles back to the shore, but Jack and Scarlette were still lost. Luckily, Will had seen their vanishing spell and told Gibbs what must have taken place. Gibbs nodded to Anamaria, who ordered the crew to make sail. _The Pearl _sailed out of port easily, none of the other ships pursuing. In fact, two of them, unfurling their sails and attempting to give chase, broadsided terribly, getting too close and scraping up both hulls, the sound of shaving wood heard for miles around.

There was little celebration on board. They weren't entirely sure that Jack and Scarlette had made it. Once again, the crew was reduced to somber silence for fear of their captain's safety.

…

At first, he thought she really _had _died. Her eyes were closed and her mouth partially open, giving her a rather frightening appearance. The blood still stained her dress a darker red and her hands lay still.

Jack was oblivious to the world around him but for that tiny slack form and, for the first time _ever_, he felt an emptiness, as if the candles had been blown out and there was that knowledge that the light would never again return.

And then she moved, and he almost swallowed his tongue in surprise. Her eyes scrunched up and then opened, their green interior cloudy for a moment. She looked at him and one of her eyes squinted as she struggled to focus. She then sat up quickly, her lips curving into a spectacular grin.

"We made it," she whispered, then jumped at him, flinging her arms around his neck and squeezing him. He was so surprised he hardly moved at all until she pulled back.

"We made it, Jack! We're both alive, and the crew most likely got away, and even Jadent's gone!"

He nodded, smiling more quietly than she, neither of them realizing they were being observed.

"Now we can go back," she continued. "Barbossa's dead, Norrington's cool with you, Sharon's getting older and probably misses us, and Will and Elizabeth are there, not to mention Lizzy and Robin. You have your ship, your life, and everything else you said you wanted, or nearly so, and you didn't even loose those 5000 pounds. And, if you remember what I told you in the jail ..."

"Well," Jack sighed. "If you're really going to have another child, Scarlette, perhaps it'd be best if you ... well, maybe you shouldn't."

Jack laughed and touched her face lightly, a fleeting sadness going across his face and vanishing like a wave in the sea.

"Was it the emerald?" he asked. She looked confused.

"What? What do you mean?"

"The emerald," he pointed to the thing around her neck. "It's set in gold. Is that how we came back?"

She smiled and nodded. "I'd forgotten about it until you lifted me and it swung around. It sure put a funny taste in _those_ soldiers' mouths. I wish I could have seen their faces as we vanished before their very eyes. Of course, they'll be looking for us, but we can always hide out. I don't mind and—"

His face made her stop. He looked like he was regretting something, as if he had an unwanted duty to perform, and she wasn't sure why. All she knew was that she wanted that haunted look to go away from his eyes.

He held out his hand. "Let me see the emerald." She didn't think about it but reached behind her and unclasped the gold chain and spilled it into his hand, the gold pooling in his dark palm for a few seconds, shimmering. He held it up by its chain in front of him and watched the green stone swing back and forth.

"I'm going to give you what you want, Ryoko," he told her. She looked at him strangely. He'd used her real name and she was getting worried. He was acting so forlorn, so unlike himself.

"Every time you've gotten hurt, nearly killed, it was because of my feuds and enemies. You were right. My name did get you in trouble, and I put you through things you must have hated, but were too kind to say so, and when you did say so, I didn't listen." He let the emerald fall into his other hand. "I'm going to leave you here. You keep telling me you want to go back to the future, the world into which you were born. It's where you belong, where you won't get stabbed, or shot or anything else."

"Jack," she whispered, sitting on the floor with her hands in her lap. "I don't ... why are you ... _no_!"

He stood, shaking his dark hair. "All the keys back are gone, save for this one. You don't need to worry about it anymore. I'll give you what you want. Farewell, Ryoko Maxwell." He turned and walked off. That's when she realized they were in the woods somewhere, the sound of a river not far off. She looked down at her hands and a tear fell from her eyes, falling with all the slowness in the world, the acceleration so dramatically accentuated that when the tear splattered on her hand, the noise it made seemed deafening.

She looked up at his vanishing back and it all clicked together finally in her stubborn mind. She did love him, but it was too late once he activated that spell. She got up and started running madly in the long dress, attempting to catch him.

She saw him looking down at the emerald and she almost screamed. She shouted after him, her voice thick with tears. "Wait! Jack, please, wait! Stop, don't go yet!" He stopped and looked back mournfully at her.

She ran right up to him and didn't wait for him to ask her what she wanted. She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest, refusing to let go even when he placed hands on her shoulders.

"Ryoko …" he began but she looked up at him, her eyes overflowing.

"My name isn't Ryoko anymore," she said softly. "My name is Scarlette! Scarlette Sparrow! You're wrong, Jack. I don't belong here anymore. I want to go back with you and I'll stay there forever if I have to."

"You're not obliged to do anything, Scarlette," he told her. "You needn't stay on my account."

"No," she told him smiling slightly. "That's not why I want to stay."

He smirked a bit, halfheartedly. "I'm listening."

She smiled. "You see, Jack. There are things one never knows until it's almost too late. A lot of those things are bad things and I used to think this was a bad thing as well, but now I realize how good it can be. It was almost too late when I realized it but Jack, _I love you_. I don't know what I would have done if I had been two seconds later in comprehending this because you would have been gone for good! You can't leave me here Jack, in fact, I won't let you leave me here."

He looked utterly shocked and he put a hand on her head, bending to look into her face. "Are you being serous this time?"

"Absolutely," she told him.

"You mean it?"

"Every word."

"And you won't go back on it this time to stab me pour black heart?"

"Never," she whispered. "And your heart isn't black at all."

"Well, then," Jack said in fake nonchalance. "In that case, I suppose I'd better give this to you for real, eh?" he circled behind her and put the emerald around her neck, clasping it deftly and smoothing her hair back over the chain. Her fingers played over the stone and her eyes were far away. When he came back to front, he took her hand, and she looked at him.

"I'm still not sure of your sincerity," he told her.

"What more do I need to tell you?" she exclaimed. "How can you not believe me? I am not playing with you, I promise!"

"I thought you said you were incapable of love," he pointed out. She jumped up and down.

"You said the same thing! You're being mean on purpose!" she looked as if she were about to cry again. He laughed and took her face in his hands.

"All right, all right," he told her. "I believe you, though you can't blame a man like me for having second guesses, luv."

"Jack!"

He grinned again and she wanted to hit him. Instead, she crossed her arms and turned away from him. She felt his hands on her shoulders and soon she was facing him again as he pulled her to him and held her face. Their lips met and it seemed quite a long time since their last kiss. They might have stayed that way for a long time except they got a rally of cheers and catcalls from the observers in the bushes. A really loud whistle brought them out of their trancelike stupor. They looked over at the bushes where Kristin Sean, Heather, Chelsea, and Tony were all smiling and cheering.

"What are you guys doing here?" Scarlette asked them, hiding in the protective circle of Jack's arms.

"We were running from one of your buddies," Tony explained. "You know, one of the cursed ones. Heather's mom had company over so we decided to come down here. Then you guys popped up and had that ..."

"Beautiful ..." Kristin supplied.

"No, that's not the word," Tony was thinking.

"Romantic ..." Heather sighed.

"Naa," Tony, still thinking.

"Dramatic ..." Kristin added.

"No," Tony continued.

"Juicy ..." Sean supplied.

"That's a good one but no ..."

"Nope, Spedoinkal!" Sean exclaimed.

"Can't you guys be serious? Ever?" Heather demanded. "You just witnessed a great scene and you're making jokes!"

"Sean would make jokes at his own funeral," Tony added.

"Can I have your autograph?" Chelsea piped up. Everyone paused, and then broke into laughter.

"She still doesn't believe us?" Kristin asked incredulously. "Jack Sparrow and Scarlette are right in front of you!"

"I believe you, but I still want their autograph, and possibly a picture."

Everyone sighed, but Jack and Scarlette weren't listening.

The Oregon kids didn't even notice when they vanished altogether.

…

(503)

**Revisited 1-21-07 3:44 pm pg (714) **


	26. Epilogue : Bring Me That Horizon

**Epilogue –Bring Me That Horizon**

The first wedding fell at the end of September, 1759. Lizzy and David Perkins became happily married, but no one alive knew their secret and they were fine. Scarlette, Robin, Claudia, and Anita were the bridesmaids. The Oregon kids were invited as well and surprisingly enough, Diana even found her way there somehow, possibly getting the piece off the cursed pirate, or something. No one knows for sure because she disappeared afterwards, much to Robin's relief.

Also in 1759, one month later, though not important to this story, important to the history of the time … Mir Jafar finally did request Dutch EITC aid to get the British EITC of his back … the Dutch were defeated by Colonel Forde of England and Mir Jafar was removed from power, his son in law, Mir Kasim Ali Khan given the title of Nawab.

More notably, the British gained control of Quebec under command of General Wolfe, who had become something of a hero in this particular war. Unfortunately, he died the same year.

Enough of history, back to the fun stuff.

The second wedding, which, to everyone but the bride and groom, was just a renewal of vows, though, two people knew what was going on, well, and the readers of course. Then came the third, yes, the third wedding.

…

Robin was sitting in her room, drawing one of the birds on the tree outside. It was a week after Scarlette's "renewal" and she had announced that she was, yet again, expecting. There were jokes and jeers but there was no pulling those two anymore. They seemed to be immune to teasing now that they were past all the danger. She was even obeying Doctor Mulligan this time.

Robin laughed quietly to herself. She was the only one who'd stayed that seemed to be odd. She couldn't hang out with the other girls because they were, well, they were different. She was just about to scream, cry, or something more drastic, or not, when there was a knock on her door. She was so started she told them to come in before thinking about it.

Topher entered the room with one hand behind his back and a discreet little smile on his face. He shut the door softly behind him and walked over to her, sitting on the bed beside her, his hand still hidden.

"Hello, Robin," he said cheerfully. "How are you today?"

"Not sure yet," she answered truthfully. "Did you need something?"

"Actually ... I ... well, recent events started me thinking that, well, I'm 23 and that's not terribly old, and you're 18 and ... well, Robin; would you ... put these in a vase please? They need water terribly." He handed her a bundle of beautiful exotic blue flowers and she smiled radiantly. She hurried to put them in water and returned to sit with him some more.

"Well ... as I was saying, Robin; would you ... keep your hair like that? It's beautiful, well; it's always beautiful but ... what a nice day it is outside."

"Are you feeling all right?" Robin asked him. "You seem a little ... nervous." She was reminded of a character from Ranma ½, a one Dr. Tofu, who when a certain woman was in his vicinity, he tended to stop paying attention to what he was doing.

"Me, nervous! No, no ... why would I be nervous?" he cleared his throat. "Robin; Will you please mar—"

"Robin!" Lizzy exclaimed, opening the door without knocking. "We're going down to the beach to the Livingston's barbecue. Do you want to come?"

"Sure," she answered. "I'll be there in a minute." Lizzy closed the door and Robin stood up and began to move about the room, putting pins in her hair where it needed them and finding her favorite necklace. She turned to go out the door when Topher stood and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Robin, don't leave yet!" he exclaimed. "I haven't told you what I came in to speak to you about."

"Well ..." she said expectantly. "What is it that you wanted?"

"Robin, dear," he said, taking a deep breath and blurting it. "I want you to marry me."

Her mouth popped open and shut immediately. "You're kidding!"

"Oh," Topher sighed. "I knew you wouldn't want to. I mean, look at m—"

"Of course I will!" She hugged him tightly and kissed him passionately before he could stutter anymore. A few seconds into it, he reciprocated fully. Lucky for them, no one was watching, and they could go as long as they bloody wanted.

And so the third wedding took place in March. Scarlette, Lizzy, and Elizabeth were bridesmaids, but the others had not been seen again for the first thing the three girls agreed on was that they wouldn't go back for anything but emergencies. The blood was still in Jack's cabin, locked within the old chest with a lidded chalice.

…

It was a few years later, after King George II had died (on the crapper, no less) and his grandson, George III had taken the throne in 1760. It was after the British had captured Martinique as well, in 1762. In fact, the Seven Years War had ended the previous year in 1763.

Things were back to normal for the time period and everyone was sitting on the porch, watching the little ones play in a scene that was sickeningly homey. Will and Sharon, the oldest, seemed to be complete opposites. They were sword fighting with little wooden cutlasses Will had made for them. William looked like a little gentleman and his sword technique was proper. Sharon, with her streaming black hair, tan skin, and bright gem like green eyes, was a little wild child when it came to fighting. Will may have been the boy, the better swordsman, and older to top it off, but he lost every time.

Little Joaquin, Keira, Lenore and the even smaller child Damian, were watching and it looked like they were taking bets. Damian (Robin's child) and Joaquin (2nd Sparrow) both bet on Will, just because he was a boy, and because he was quite a bit taller than Sharon, but Lenore (Lizzy's child) and Keira (Elizabeth's 2nd) had faith in their own gender and rooted on Sharon.

Jack nudged Will and jerked his head in the kids' direction. Will looked over and saw the two of them facing off, Sharon's stance laid back and Will's stance perfect, as always. She had disarmed him within ten seconds.

"You cheated!" Little Will exclaimed. She giggled and took off, Will chasing her. She stopped abruptly and dodged him as he came running, watching him skid to a stop and attempt to double back on her. Damian and Joaquin were going at it now while Keira seemed torn between the two groups. She ended up running to her father and climbing up in Will's lap, smiling angelically. Lenore followed and climbed up to sit between her parents, Lizzy and David.

Little Joaquin came running back, crying a little. Scarlette tutted and scooped him up, soothing the little child. This one seemed to take nothing from her, his eyes, hair, and skin all dark, all Jack. Damian came up and sat between his mother and father, Robin stroking his hair and brushing dirt off his pants. Eventually, Will came sprinting up, running for his life as Sharon tore after him, holding her skirts up and revealing breeches underneath.

"Sharon!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "It's not ladylike to wear pants under your petticoats."

"Mama said it was okay," Sharon crooned. "She said when she was a little girl, she wore pants all the time."

"That I did," Scarlette agreed, eyeing Elizabeth jokingly. "Skirts are no fun when you want to play."

Sharon tried to take Little Joaquin's spot with her mother but her father grabbed her and swung her around before settling down again with her on his lap. She giggled and grabbed at his beads, like always. Even though she was five now, she still loved those decorations. Scarlette had caught her once trying to string a few beads into her own hair and when Scarlette giggled in mirth, Sharon whirled around with such a shocked little look that Scarlette couldn't help but laugh. Sharon had blushed enough to light up a room.

Sharon wasn't like other little girls. Scarlette had only put ribbons in her hair once, but only because she'd asked her to. Sharon decided she'd rather not have ribbons once she looked in the mirror. She was definitely Scarlette's child, not to mention Jack's. It was frightening at times how alike she was to both of them and more than once they had looked at each other and wondered whose trait she had just exhibited.

Keira and Lenore were both shy girls. Keira wanted to be just like her mother and Lenore had a thing for cats. She would not leave the cats alone! There was one cat on the Turner estate, Phoenix, and when David and Lizzy came to visit (they lived in town) Lenore would stalk that cat all day long, no matter how long it took to catch the animal. None of them could really lift the cat either. He was a great big grey creature, with lazy green eyes and a habit for drooling. It was entertaining to watch the little girl haul the enormous cat everywhere, a trail of drool showing where they'd been.

Damian liked music. He had found an old banjo somewhere and loved to pluck at the strings. It turned out that Topher had a nice house near the Turner estate that he and Robin had gone to once they were married. Damian had found all the little crawlspaces in the house and had hidden everything from food to money in these spaces. Robin, while cleaning, felt that she was on a treasure hunt and was never sure what exactly she might find.

And then, there was Jonathan. Little Jonathan, whose father was a commodore and whose mother ended up being ...

"Diana?" Lizzy exclaimed when the thin woman came up to the Turner house one day, trailing the little boy. "What? Where?"

Eventually, Diana explained. She had found a strong witch who had been kind enough to remove the curse from her for good and had also given her some herbs that would make an effective love potion, should she ever want to use it. Somehow, it had accidentally gotten into Norrington's tea while Diana was in his office asking for information on how to get back to her time.

"He was so nice to me after he'd had some of it that I just couldn't resist. I couldn't just let someone like him get away, could I?"

"Diana," Robin muttered. "I don't know whether to thank you or laugh uncontrollably until I cry from laughing so hard. You are a ninny but it all works out in the end."

And so it did. That night, Damian, a little excited because he'd been allowed to have _two_ candies that night, asked Jack to tell a story.

"Well," Jack began. "There is the tale of the Oracle's Prophecy. I suppose I could tell that one and you'll get all the other stories along with it. Well, it all started in Tortuga ..."

…

Scarlette stood at the helm of the ship, looking ahead into the setting sun and Jack stepped up behind her. She turned around to look at him and smiled broadly as she saw how beautiful the red light from the sunset made his eyes.

"Where are we going?" she asked him. He smiled, pulled out his compass, snapped it shut, and smiled.

"Wherever we want," he told her, handing her the compass. "We are free as birds, luv. Sparrows indeed."

She smiled and turned back to the sunset, flipping open the compass. "I want to chase the sun."

"That will keep us busy for a while, until we give up," Jack pointed out.

"Well, I believe you said long ago, '_Bring me that horizon'_, which is equally impossible, Jack."

He smiled at her and hooked an arm around her waist. "Nothing's impossible."

-]Fini[-

-Author- MAXWELL JACK

-Based on Walt Disney's PIRATES of the CARIBBEAN and PIRATES of the CARIBBEAN, CURSE of the BLACK PEARL-

-Produced by and MICROSOFT WORD-

-Executive Producer- JMAX

-Pictures, murals, and other visual effects- MIAKA SOATOME

-Production Designer- MAXWELL JACK

-Editors- JAMIE and HEATHER COOK

-Costumes for original characters- Shannon Cook

-Music- Alan Cook and Tasuki Noda

-Music supervisor and casting- Jade Ryouko

Johnny Depp

Geoffrey Rush

Pirates of the Caribbean

T h e O r a c l e ' s P r o p h e c y

Orlando Bloom

Keira Knightley

Jack Davenport

Kevin R. McNally

Zoë Saldana

Jonathan Pryce

J.R. Maxwell

E.A Talbott

R. Skiles

Treva Etienne

David Bailie

N.E. Maxwell

C. Gonzales

D.D. Cobian

A. Arenas

Lee Arenberg

Mackenzie Crook

Jose Smith

Zhang Ziyi

Jason Isaacs

Margaret Mitchell

Heather Cook

Kristin Thornburg

Chelsea Russell

Trevor Goddard

Isaac C. Singleton Jr.

Brye Cooper

Tony Mecum

Sean Wilson-Luckinbill

Jennetta Hall

presents

in association with

Microsoft Word

A

Silhouette Doujinshi

Fiction

cast 

Jack Sparrow – Johnny Depp

Hector Barbossa – Geoffrey Rush

William Turner – Orlando Bloom

Elizabeth Turner - Keira Knightley

James Norrington – Jack davenport

Barton James – Ryan Ussery

Weatherby Swann – Jonathan Pryce

Scarlette Sparrow – Jamie Rose

Lizzy Talbott – Elizabeth Ashley

Robin Skiles – Robby Casper

Joshamee Gibbs – Kevin R. McNally

Anamaria Johnson – Zoë Saldana

Bootstrap Bill Turner – Stelan Skarsgard

Claudia Gonzales – Cloud Morrison

Diana Cobian – D.D. Etoile

Nicholas Maxwell – Eli Shinobi

Pintel – Lee Arenberg

Ragetti – Mackenzie Crook

Lt. Gillette – Damian O'Hare

Groves – Greg Ellis

Murtogg – Giles New

Mullroy – Angus Barnette

Cotton – David Bailie

Twigg – Michael berry Jr.

Mr. Dimitri – Bert Eikelberry

Mrs. Dmitri – Rose Wingenbach

Geri Tonkins – Michael Thelander

Billie Sands – Brent Kehoe

Christophe O'Malley – Christopher Highbarger

Mr. Williams – Danny Williams

Hotel Clerk – Jim McNutt

Abuta – Isaac C. Singleton Jr.

Koehler – Treva Etienne

Estrella – Paula Jane Newman

Butler – Paul Keith

Angelique – Charlotte Leonard

Libussa – Monkey Island's Voodoo pristess

Unorna – Queen Latifah

Tavington – Jason Isaacs

Mei Lin – Zhang Ziyi

Dante – Jose Smith

David – D.J. Perkins

Belle Watling– Sonie Leamons

Elise Sparrow – Nancy Gordon

Rosette – Monica Uribe

Eric – Matt Steel

Nicolette – Brigitte Moore

Sarah – Jennifer Dumas

Phyllidia – Victoria Blanc

Eliie – Electra Newel

Cassandra – Femi Taylor

Scarlet – Lauren Maher

Gisele – Vanessa Branch  
Colin – Peter Hewitt

Makeo – Antonio Banderas

Ayeka – Salma Hayek

Grene – Gerk Solomon

Grapple – Trevor Goddard

Jacoby – Vince Lozano

Mallot – Brye Cooper

Captain McLean – Jared McLean

First mate Parker – Bruce Allen

Heather – Ariana Cook

Kristin – Anamaria Thornburg

John Jadent – Trih Silvel

Dr. Mulligan – Hugh Laurie

Older Billington – David Aparicio

Younger Billington – Chris Henderson

Paddy – Dana Erickson

Puggy – Josiah Coulter

Reverend Steenwick – Robert Thew

Tony – Anthony Mecum

Stupid – Sean Wilson-Luckinbill

Chelsea – Baby Russell

Dan – Daniel Schwartz

Darren – D.D.G

CAP – Chris Ames

Crazy Burbridge – Lames of ST

Shane – S. Stafford

Olives – Kyle Olivo

Jenny – Jeanetta Hall

Katie – Katherine Mishler

Chris – Bart Henderson

Daniel – Dan Ortiz

Tim – Bret Cadle

Auctioneer – Paul Frees

Cutler Beckett – Tom Hollander

Town Clerk – Owen Finnegan

Jack's Crew

Schaeffer – Mike Gonzales

Marty – Martin Klebba

Armstrong – Kenny the Fragrant

Nathaniel – Squeaky Harris

Stevenson – Sir Talbott

Dobereiner – Paul Drevets

Leech - San Shella

Moises – felix Castro

Kursab – Mike Harebecht

Matelot – Rudolph McColum

Tearlach – Gerard Reyers

Duncan – M. Scott Shields

Laderoc – Chris Sullivan (Sully)

Crimp – Craig Thompson

Quartetto – Greg Toft

Finius – James Blinzler

Algren – Daniel White

Varley – Justin "Flamer" Reeves

The Parrot – Captain Flint

Barbossa's Crew

Jack the monkey – Terra

Weatherby – D.P. Fitzgerald

Ketchum – Jerry Gauny

Maximo – Maxie J. Santillian Jr.

Mone – Michael Lane

Dog Rab – Tobias McKinney

Clubba – David Patykewich

Scarub – Tommy Schooler

Simbakka – Michael A. Thompson

Hawksmoor – Michael J. Williams

Katracho – Jose G. Zelaya

Scratch – Finneus Egan

Nipperkin – Don Ladaga

Content Inspirators

Shirley Stewart

LucasArts Monkey Island series

K.S. Tinier

The creators of Styrofoam

Italian Parmesian

Newcastle Brown Ale

Madame Southwood and Mr. Noonan

Anyone else I've forgotten

Anything else I've forgotten

A very big credit to Microsoft word spellchecker

are these credits done yet?

No, I don't think so.

um …

Yep.

This Fanfiction was brought to you by Silhouette Doujinshi, , and Microsoft Word. I hereby place a copywrite on my work, not that anyone would want to use it anyway. © 2003, Silhouette Doujinshi, Downey California. © 2004, Silhouette Doujinshi, Grants Pass Oregon.

And the final count is ... 507, with glossary ... 524. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Maxwell Jack, thank you for reading Pirates of the Caribbean; The Oracle's Prophecy and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing. Adieu.

…

A young European woman in the 21st century puts down her book and scoffs, kicking a chair in pure boredom. A string hanging from the ceiling catches her eye. She stands and reaches for it, pulling it down towards her. A door opens, dust and cobwebs falling down upon her head. She coughs and waves away the dust, noticing a ladder. She drags a chair over and pulls herself up into the attic.

Finding it lit well enough due to the gaps between the slats in the roof, she notices several boxes, all unopened, all of a cedar lining. She opens one and is very pleased to find two things; an antique compass that seems to be broken and old dagger. Digging through the box, she pulls out a smaller box that opens on hinges. Inside she finds to her amazement and immediate interest, a large emerald set in gold and a golden ring with the face of a skull, the eyes blazing red, even in the darkness.

Digging still further, she finds something even better than the previous discoveries. An old, 18th century pistol, still loaded, inlaid with silver designs, the grip worn into a groove, a face inder t was sickeningly homeye periodious year.) and his grandson, George III had taken the a hero in this paon the end of the butt, fitting neatly into her hand.

She turns back to the emerald and begins to place it around her neck, thinking about where all the boxes could have come from. She finishes her thought on a sunny beach amidst gales of gunfire and pouring rain, the water falling from the sky despite the gleaming sun. She clumsily drops the emerald in her surprise and it falls into the tide pool at her feet.

-]-Fini-[-

**Revisited 1-21-07 4:16 pm final page count - 724 - with glossary - 740**


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